Nithio

💡 INDUSTRY INSIGHT: AI for Africa: Use Cases Delivering Impact The GSMA's latest report explores AI's potential to boost Africa's economy and advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It identifies AI use cases in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, focusing on agriculture, energy, and climate action while highlighting the need for solutions tailored to Africa's unique challenges. The report also features Nithio's innovative use of AI and blended finance to improve off-grid solar energy access for low-income and last-mile communities. The GSMA calls for exploring innovative finance tools to de-risk AI investments, such as blended finance. These tools can help startups build AI capabilities, reduce risk, and optimize funding, while dedicated funding for women founders ensures equitable access. Written by Eugénie Humeau and Tanvi Deshpande, with contributions from Daniele Tricarico. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/g7jaGetH

📰 Nithio Updates: Join the Nithio Team! Nithio is seeking an Investment Analyst to drive innovation and progress in climate finance and energy access. In this role, you will support the Investment Team by conducting market research and financial analysis to help scale our operations and align with our company's objectives. We would like to hear from you if you share our values and believe you are a great fit. Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/dsd4mkAh

💡 INDUSTRY INSIGHT: Reuters Events' Global Energy Transition 2024 (GET24) Award We are thrilled to announce that Power for All has received the prestigious Reuters Events' Global Energy Transition 2024 (GET24) Socially Responsible Project award for their Utilities 2.0 project on Productive Use of Energy (PUE) in the Kiwumu Community, Uganda. This award celebrates the innovative approach of merging centralized grid infrastructure with decentralized renewable energy sources. The Utilities 2.0 project has successfully scaled cost-effective electrification, providing significant socio-economic benefits to households and businesses in the community. Nithio is proud to have supported this impactful project alongside other dedicated partners.

💡 INDUSTRY INSIGHT: The Energy Progress Report 2024: Access to Clean Fuels and Technologies for Cooking - Tracking SDG 7 The 2024 Energy Progress Report provides a comprehensive overview of global progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), with Chapter 2 focusing on clean cooking. Despite progress in 2022, only 74% of the global population had access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, a 16% increase since 2010. However, around 2.1 billion people still rely on polluting fuels for cooking. The Report highlights a persistent urban-rural disparity in access to clean cooking. Urban areas continue to have greater access than rural areas, but the gap is closing. Over the past decade, access in rural areas has increased significantly, from 30% in 2010 to 54% in 2022. In contrast, access in urban areas has slightly increased, from 82% in 2010 to 88% in 2022. Investment is urgently needed to accelerate progress toward universal access to clean cooking by 2030. If current trends continue, 21% of the world's population won't have access to clean cooking fuels by 2030, leaving nearly 1.8 billion people dependent on traditional and inefficient stoves, solid fuels, and kerosene. By 2030, 6 out of 10 people lacking access to clean cooking will reside in Sub-Saharan Africa, potentially exceeding 1 billion people. The Report emphasizes the need for increased investment to bridge this gap. It estimates that annual investment must increase from the current $2.5 billion to $8 billion by 2030 to achieve SDG7. This includes implementing comprehensive frameworks and providing financial incentives to encourage the transition from traditional fuels to cleaner alternatives. The Report is authored by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations, The World Bank, and the World Health Organization, with external contributions. Read the Report: https://lnkd.in/dPp_vP3

📰 Nithio Updates: Annual Team Retreat Our annual retreat this year took us to the vibrant city of Lagos, Nigeria! Coming together in person as a team from nine different countries was a refreshing and invigorating experience. We engaged in collaborative brainstorming sessions and dynamic team-building activities. Visiting our local partner and their customers provided valuable insights into our impact. This retreat strengthened our focus on building climate resilience, scaling clean energy access, and exploring new directions in Africa.

🗓 This Week! Meet Nithio's Chief of Staff, Grace Fenton, at the GOGLA's 2024 Annual General Meeting and Member Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 18-Wednesday, June 19, 2024. Join us: https://lnkd.in/d5G5DvE4 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dkrgBu6h

ICYMI: Digitalizing Innovative Finance: Revenue Share Models and Receivables Financing Nithio's Data Solution Manager, Njeri Kara, was a guest on the GSMA webinar "Digitalizing Innovative Finance: Receivables Financing and Revenue-share Models. The webinar focused on the role of digital technology in enabling revenue share models and receivable financing. During the session, Njeri discussed how Nithio utilizes its Risk Analytics Engine to standardize credit risk assessment by leveraging customer repayment data, geospatial data, and AI. She explained how this data helps Nithio obtain portfolio health metrics to track key performance indicators and predict customer repayment patterns, ensuring accurate valuation for receivables and assessing the risk levels associated with investments. Njeri further elaborated on how Nithio's Analytics product serves as a tool for due diligence input in FAIR financing, portfolio monitoring, and compliance in FAIR investment. It also helps track various socio-economic and environmental metrics according to industry standards, facilitating capital deployment from other investors outside of FAIR. Additionally, Njeri highlighted the importance of PAYGO companies investing in high-quality data—such as customer-level data, payment transaction data, demographic information, and geolocation data—as critical metrics for being deemed creditworthy for direct investment. The GSMA unites over 1,000 mobile operators and businesses across the ecosystem and related industries to advance innovation and reduce inequalities worldwide. The GSMA Digital Utilities program enables access to essential utility services in low- and middle-income countries through digital solutions and innovative partnerships. Watch the webinar replay: https://lnkd.in/dTG36Hs7

🗓 This Week: Join Nithio's Chief Investment Officer, Raghav Sachdeva, CFA, and Investment Associate, Louis Lu, at the GOGLA Bridge webinar, a member-exclusive event on May 30th, 2024, at 14:00 CET | 15:00 EAT. They will discuss Nithio's investment vehicle, FAIR, the Facility for Adaptation, Inclusion, and Resilience. FAIR is a blended-finance, open-ended facility that provides investors—including Development Finance Institutions, family offices, impact and commercial investors access to a diversified portfolio of clean energy companies that deliver strong impact outcomes and financial returns. GOGLA Bridge Live is a forum offering investment and technical assistance support for companies and stakeholders in the OffGrid Solar sector and provides regular updates on ongoing funding opportunities. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dTbBb9kp

📅 Happening Next Week: Join Nithio's Data Solutions Manager, Njeri Kara, at the GSMA's Live webinar on May 29th, 2024, at 11:00 BST. | 13:00 EAT She will be speaking at the session titled "Digitalising Innovative Finance: Receivables Financing and Revenue-Share Models." The webinar will focus on the role of technology in making access to revenue-share models and receivables financing more efficient, transparent, and catalytic. Speakers: - David Ekabouma, GreenMax Capital Group - Jim Chu, Untapped Global - Jonathan Green BasiGo - Krishna Swaroop, Sun King - Manon Dubois Solaris Offgrid - George Kibala Bauer, GSMA - Zach White, GSMA - Harbhajan Singh CredAble Join us:  https://lnkd.in/dr9SdiMY

🌟 Nithio Employee Spotlight: In our ongoing employee spotlight series, we feature team members who have transitioned from Nithio's Internship Program to full-time roles within the company. Join us as we spotlight Jennifer Umoru, a Marketing Analyst based in Nigeria. She shares her experience at Nithio and how it prepares her for a future in the climate finance sector.