Sterling Bank Plc has launched a new and innovative digital product, known as the Imperium Platform, to connect consumers and providers of renewable energy (solar solutions) as a viable solution to Nigeria’s electricity crisis.

It said in a statement that the Imperium Platform was launched following the unveiling of the Nigerian electricity industry report entitled, ‘Powering Nigeria: How solar energy can become a sustainable electricity alternative’.

The report was produced by Sterling Bank in partnership with Stears, a digital information company, the statement said.

According to the Group Head, Renewable Energy at Sterling Bank, Dele Faseemo, the Imperium Platform sought to provide clean and affordable energy solutions to interested customers while providing different financing options to customers purchasing the solution outright or paying for the installation and operation of the solution

Faseemo explained that Sterling Bank, in partnership with Stears Data embarked on the study to tackle the problem of providing solar energy in the country.

The report showed that despite the privatisation of Nigeria’s electricity industry, the country still had one of the lowest electrification rates in the world, as 43 per cent of its population had no access to grid electricity, an indication that 85 million Nigerians were not connected to – and would not receive electricity from – the Nigerian transmission grid.