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NSIA, IFC To Stake $500m Into Renewable Energy Development In Nigeria
Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) in partnership with the International Finance Corporation ( IFC) World Bank’s investment outlet is committing $500 million to renewable energy projects in Nigeria.
NSIA’s intervention in renewable energy is being carried out via its latest outlet – Renewables Investment Platform for Limitless Energy (RIPLE). Under RIPLE, the Authority in conjunction with IFC would be undertaking a pilot initiative located within the Tokarawa Industrial Hub in Kano State
It involves setting up a generation and distribution system to meet 70MW of unsuppressed energy demands of industrial activities, commercial enterprises, and residential customers in an area covering about 9,000 connections.
The project will be extended to other parts of the country in the course of time.
NSIA and IFC signed a formal agreement on renewable energy over the weekend in Abuja. The agreement entails NSIA committing $25 million as a seed investment to the project.
Speaking to reporters at the event sidelines, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of NSIA, Mr Aminu Umar – Sadiq described the moment watershed.
“I think this is a watershed moment for the renewable energy space in Nigeria. We are hoping that this fund we are targeting, about $500 million will focus on renewable energy space in general. The strategy is in three folds.
“The first is around diesel displacement, the second is around franchising in general, and then the third is around the backward integration towards PV manufacturing in Nigeria ”
“Naturally, we start with a proof of consent project with baby steps. However, as always the ambition of the NSIA and the IFC as it relates to this fund, is to scale up; to be able to go large.
“We are hopeful that in the course of time, we’ll begin to feel the impact of projects that we are co-developing as well as co-executing for the benefits of Nigeria and Nigerians”, explained NSIA MD.
Speaking about funds commitment, he said $25 million was pledged by the NSIA as committed capital. The IFC, he added was also co-developing transactions up north by a franchise project of 70 megawatts in Kano state. He estimated the project should be delivered within a space of three to four years.
” There are a number of important considerations within your control and there are also a number out of your control. Typically in executing a large-scale infrastructure project, you are talking about three to four years. We are hopeful we should be able to implement a couple of our initial projects within that time.
“Upon the conclusion, by the time we’ve basically gone very far in implementing our first couple of projects, and we have a proof of consent in terms of the portfolio of projects that we can show external investors, then we’ll embark upon that we looking at about two to two and a half years”, he said.
Sadiq was confident Nigeria will overcome her power challenge.
” We are investors but by the grace of God that is the ambition- to be able to meet our power deficit through the generation of sustainable, renewable energy in Nigeria”.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Dan Craft, IFC Regional Manager ( Africa) underscored IFC’s interest on the renewable energy project in Nigeria.
“We are pretty much interested in everything you heard in that speech- access, efficiency, security, all on a climate-friendly basis. Our interest in the project is, working with credible partners who are committed to the long term to develop a project on a fully sustainable basis, delivering the most cost-effective power, as clean as possible. It’s all good. This is our interest in the project. We would love to find more partners like NSIA, but they don’t grow on trees”.
” At this early stage, what we’re working on is, development capital to seed the platform. But whenever we do this, it’s with a longer-term investment horizon. We’re not interested in just the upfront seed.
“In fact, if there is no long-term horizon, then we don’t do the first bit either. So what we’re looking at, is enough on a percentage share basis to get the thing moving. And then as more projects enter, the funding will follow.
Essentially, we don’t really have an upper limit for what we would like to finance in this space. Our problem is finding the opportunities to do so, which is why we’re so excited about this”, said IFC Regional Manager.
He said investment in renewable energy isn’t a new terrain as according to him, “We have done a number of renewable energy investments in solar and wind and hydro and transmission and distribution”.
“Like I said when I was speaking, it’s about finding the right way into the market. Bringing any of those solutions off the shelf doesn’t tend to work. This is the first step.
And as far as I know, certainly on the African continent, this is the first one of these we’ve done in terms of a platform”, he said.
Glovo, a multi-category tech company, has announced its integration into the generative AI ecosystem with the launch of its “Shopping Assistant” for ChatGPT and Claude. Users can now discover retail products, compare prices, and seamlessly order any item using natural conversational language with the AI systems.
The Glovo experience inside such platforms introduces a conversational commerce model that shifts from a search-based web to an intent-based web. Rather than navigating traditional app menus and filters, users can express needs, such as asking for a “last-minute gift for a coffee lover under ₦50,000”, and the assistant handles semantic search, location validation, and product curation.
A Seamless, Concierge-Like Experience
Once both platforms have been connected through either ChatGPT or Claude apps, the user will be able to have a multi-turn dialogue where the assistant remembers context and constraints, such as budget caps. Users receive a visual carousel of up to five highly customised product options available at local stores. Each product displays its image, name, store details and ratings, and price. While the search and discovery experience takes place directly on the Generative AI platforms, selecting a product via the “view on Glovo” button takes the user to the Glovo mobile or web app, where the payment and final purchase are exclusively completed.
Strategic Focus on Retail and Growth
Glovo is prioritising the retail and grocery sectors for this initial launch, capturing the established habit of using AI for product research. Generative AI has driven a significant jump in retail traffic globally, so this first-mover advantage aims to meet customers where they are meeting Gen AI daily, and ensure it captures high-intent organic traffic as search behaviours evolve.
“We’re always looking for ways to meet our customers where they already are. Being available on Claude and ChatGPT means people can discover what Glovo has to offer as part of a natural conversation, with no friction. Glovo has always been about being the everyday app that provides choice and convenience, and this is another step in that direction”, said Shiro Theuri, Chief Technology Officer at Glovo.
How to look for products in the Glovo app through ChatGPT or Claude
- The user must sync ChatGPT or Claude with the Glovo app with the plug-in.
- Once synced, the user must type in @glovo followed by their request.
- The AI platform displays a carousel with 5 available options for the user.
- If the user wants to purchase any of the products or continue searching within the Glovo app, they must click “View on Glovo”, which will redirect the user to the Glovo app or website.
- After the order is confirmed, the store will prepare the item(s) and the courier will head up to the pick-up location. The user will receive the order in minutes.
Southeast Asia cybercrime networks are expanding operations into Africa as crackdowns intensify in the subregion, according to a recent report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The massive, unintended geographic shift triggered by intense pressure from international task forces in Myanmar and Cambodia,have seen highly sophisticated criminal networks now establishing footholds in major tech hubs across Kenya and Nigeria, transforming local technical talent into accomplices for industrial-scale digital theft as reported by https://streamlinefeed.co.ke/
This strategic migration represents a critical evolution in the $17 billion crypto scam economy.
Transnational scam syndicates are organized criminal networks that run industrial-scale online fraud using trapped or trafficked labor.
The UNODC has documented this diversification, noting that African nations are increasingly targeted as operational bases due to robust internet infrastructure and a surplus of unemployed tech workers.
In response, local authorities are engaged in a frantic game of catch-up against well-funded foreign cartels.
Recall that in 2025, UNODC, described the shift as part of a broader trend in which crime “spreads like a cancer,” into regions with weaker enforcement and limited digital safeguards.
The report pointed to the rapid proliferation of online fraud operations, including cryptocurrency scams and phishing schemes, moving from countries like Myanmar and Cambodia into new footholds in Africa—particularly Nigeria.
A recent case publicized June 12, 2025 by the WeChat public account West Africa Chinese Voice illustrates the trend: Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested 177 Chinese nationals in Lagos and Abuja between December 2024 and January 2025.
The suspects were allegedly running scam centers under the guise of corporate offices, where local Nigerians were trained to carry out online investment frauds—many following the “pig-butchering” model, which builds trust with victims before luring them into fraudulent crypto investments.
Authorities seized hundreds of SIM cards, high-performance computers, and prewritten scam scripts during the raids
Ugochukwu Eze, a 47 year-old man, was on Thursday arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly hacking into the server of SunTrust Bank to steal a total of N800m.
Ugochukwu also known as Amazon, was arraigned before the court by the operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS).
DSS accused Ugochukwu of fraudulently hacking into the server of SunTrust Bank to remove and divert the sum of N800 million into several accounts in other financial institutions.
M. Bajela,prosecuting counsel, DSS, in the charges filed before the court alleged that the defendant and others now at large, between 2023 and 2026, conspired among themselves and unlawfully and seriously hindered the function of Suntrust Bank Plc’s computer system server and in the process fraudulently diverted over N800 million belonging to the bank.
Ugochukwu was also accused of concealing and transferring various sums of money traced to the unlawful cyber-attacks to some account in some financial institutions.
The offences alleged to have been committed by the defendant according to the prosecutor contravened sections 5; 6(1) and 8 of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act, 2024. And Sections 10, 20 and 18(2)(D) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
Based on his plea of not guilty, the prosecutor asked the court for a trial date, and prayed the court to remand the defendant in the facility of the correctional services pending the time trial will commence.
However, E. Afrogha, defendant’s lawyer, told the court that she has filed her client’s bail application. adding that her client has been in the DSS custody for over a month.
But the prosecution counsel told the court that he has not been served with the bail application, not withstanding that his witnesses are available.
Based on the counsels’ submissions, Justice Friday Ogazi, presiding judge, adjourned the matter to August 24,2026 for hearing of the bail application.
The judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) pending the hearing of the bail application.
One of the counts against the defendant reads: “That you UGOCHUKWU EZE (AKA AMAZON) (M) (47 YEARS) sometime between 2023 and 2026 in Lagos, and other places within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, unlawfully seriously hindered the function of SunTrust Bank Plc’s computer system, and in the process fraudulently diverted over N800, 000,000.00 (Eight Hundred Million Naira) belonging to the said SunTrust Bank thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 8 of the cybercrime (prohibition, prevention etc.) Act, 2024.”
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