How Nithio is Driving Africa’s Energy Transition Through Blended Finance and AI Powered Risk Analytics with Roeland Menger

Episode 188 with Roeland Menger, CEO of Nithio, a climate fintech platform that invests in clean energy companies and helps others allocate capital to climate solutions that build resilience. Roeland brings deep experience from his work at Google, the World Bank, and Power Africa to this conversation about bridging Africa’s clean energy financing gap.

In this episode, he shares how Nithio’s Facility for Adaptation, Inclusion and Resilience (FAIR) is unlocking capital to scale off grid energy investments across the continent. From deploying artificial intelligence powered risk analytics to raising innovative blended finance structures, Roeland explains how Nithio is making clean energy affordable, bankable, and investable.

He discusses the challenges of directing global climate finance towards Africa, the critical role of junior capital in de risking investments, and the opportunity to replace diesel generators with scalable clean energy solutions.

What We Discuss With Roeland

• The vision behind Nithio’s Facility for Adaptation, Inclusion and Resilience (FAIR) and how it is bridging Africa’s clean energy financing gap.
• How Nithio’s AI powered Risk Analytics Engine is chaning credit risk assessment and enabling investment into both large and small clean energy companies.
• Expanding access to clean energy across twenty countries, with a focus on sectors such as solar irrigation, productive use appliances, and e mobility.
• The impact of replacing diesel generators with scalable renewable energy solutions and the broader climate benefits for the continent.
• The challenges and opportunities in financing small local energy distributors and making them bankable for larger investors.

Verto Corner
In this week’s Verto Corner, Alice Williams, Expansion Operations Manager at Verto, shares her insights on what it really takes for businesses to succeed when entering new markets. 

She explains the key factors companies must consider at the outset, from understanding payment requirements to navigating regulatory frameworks, and how to avoid the common mistakes that can slow growth. 

Alice also highlights the role of effective cross border payment systems in making expansion smoother and more sustainable.

Access the Strategy Handbook

Did you miss my previous episode where I discus Building Africa’s UFC: How a Nigerian Entrepreneur Is Taking African Combat Sports From the Village to the World? Make sure to check it out!

Connect with Terser:
LinkedIn – Terser Adamu
Instagram – unlockingafrica
Twitter (X) – @TerserAdamu

Connect with Roeland:
LinkedIn – Roeland Menger
Twitter – @nithiocredit

Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group:

www.etkgroup.co.uk
info@etkgroup.co.uk