Business
THE Productive Use Financing Facility (PUFF) has awarded 19 companies across Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia grants worth 1.5 million dollars to accelerate access to productive-use energy technologies for small businesses and entrepreneurs across Africa.
The funding, announced by CLASP during the Adaptation Investment Summit 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, is expected to support the deployment of about 3,800 productive-use energy appliances and create more than 3,000 green jobs across the three countries.
The beneficiaries comprise eight Nigerian companies, six Kenyan firms and five Ethiopian companies selected to expand access to income-generating solar-powered equipment for farmers, entrepreneurs and small businesses.
The Nigerian beneficiaries are Asolar System Nigeria Limited, Ceesolar Energy Limited, Cloud Energy Photoelectric, Consistent Energy Ltd, D@ech Nig Ltd, Ecotutu, Sosai Renewable Energies and GreenPower Overseas Limited.
According to the organisers, the initiative seeks to bridge the gap between electricity access and the productive use of energy by making essential appliances more affordable for businesses.
The appliances include solar-powered water pumps, refrigeration systems, milling equipment and other technologies that enable small enterprises to improve productivity, increase income and expand their operations.
CLASP noted that while electricity access continues to improve across Africa through initiatives such as Mission 300, many businesses remain unable to take advantage of available energy because of the high upfront cost of productive-use appliances.
It explained that the PUFF grants would help manufacturers and distributors reduce production costs, lower appliance prices and improve access to clean energy technologies for underserved communities.
Speaking on the initiative, Emmanuel Aziebor, Senior Director for Africa at CLASP, said expanding electricity access alone would not guarantee economic transformation unless businesses could also use that energy productively.
“Africa’s economic future depends not just on expanding access to electricity, but on ensuring that energy powers businesses, creates jobs and improves livelihoods.
“The technologies already exist. The challenge is making them accessible to the entrepreneurs who need them most.
“Through PUFF, we are helping bridge that gap so more businesses can invest, grow and drive local economic development,” Aziebor said.
He said the productive-use appliance market currently serves less than one per cent of its potential customer base across Africa.
According to him, expanding the sector could unlock nearly 16 billion dollars in annual income potential and create about 50 million new jobs across the continent over the next decade.
Also speaking, Carol Koech, Vice President for Africa at the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, said affordable financing remained critical to accelerating renewable energy adoption among African businesses.
Koech said the alliance was committed to supporting entrepreneurs by aligning finance, technology, markets and enabling policies to drive equitable energy transition across the continent.
She added that empowering businesses with clean energy technologies would stimulate enterprise growth while creating broader economic opportunities.
William Mulehi, Senior Manager at CLASP, said experience from the programme showed there was already strong market demand for productive-use energy technologies.
He said the second funding round was designed to help businesses overcome the initial investment costs associated with acquiring productive-use appliances.
According to him, the support will enable beneficiary companies to reach more entrepreneurs and expand into new markets.
CLASP said PUFF had demonstrated significant impact since its launch.
It said the first phase of the programme, implemented between 2022 and 2024, provided 2.7 million dollars in grants that supported the sale of nearly 16,000 income-generating appliances.
The organisation said the intervention directly benefited more than 53,000 people across Africa through improved access to productive energy technologies.
PUFF is managed by CLASP with support from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet.
The programme provides grants, procurement subsidies and technical assistance to suppliers and distributors to reduce the cost of energy-efficient technologies such as solar water pumps, refrigerators and milling equipment for small businesses and households.
CLASP described the initiative as part of broader efforts to strengthen Africa’s clean energy ecosystem by enabling entrepreneurs to use renewable energy as a driver of economic growth, job creation and climate resilience.
F.O
Tags: CLASP Firms PUFF Solar powered businesses