Okra Solar

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Okra is an IoT technology solution that enables solar generating communities to share, store and uti But until now, power hasn’t been cheap.

For the vast majority of the 760Million people living off-grid, access to reliable electricity brings about a whole new world of opportunities and experiences. Okra is a plug & play hardware + software solution that allows smart pay-as-you-go microgrids to be created by connecting existing off the shelf solar panels and batteries. Okra mesh-grid design allows for grids to start small, with more panels and batteries able to be added to the grid to increase capacity as demand increases. Remote monitoring keeps grid operators informed so they can eliminate blackouts, adapt to variations in demand and identify exactly where and when the grid needs scaling. Each household is metered and charged using mobile payments, meaning families without bank accounts can easily access affordable power, for the first time.

30/10/2026

When the lights go out at the Okra office, the ghosts come out. 👻

Luckily, keeping them on is kind of our thing.

Happy Halloween from the Porto team 🎃

29/10/2026

Yesterday in Kigali, we co-hosted a breakfast roundtable with GET.invest alongside the GOGLA Global Off-Grid Solar Forum. The goal: help funding and regulations move faster to energize more people.

More than $6 billion in energy access funding is being allocated under , Regional DARES and . The money is there, but the speed and ability to reach most communities with productive power is not. There was agreement in the room that mesh-grids address this large gap left by existing technologies.

The session launched GET.invest’s new policy brief, “Scaling the adoption of mesh-grids in sub-Saharan Africa,” written with GET.transform, REA Nigeria and CrossBoundary Access.
Read the policy brief here:https://www.get-invest.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/202610_GET.invest_Scaling-the-adoption-of-mesh-grids-in-sub-Saharan-Africa_.pdf

What came out of the discussion:

1️⃣ Let developers choose the technology. Developers carry the risk in each community, so they’re best placed to pick the least-cost way to electrify it. Programs should fund the outcome and stay open to every technology that delivers it.

2️⃣ Match results-based finance with debt. Results-based grants pay out after the build, and many local developers don’t have the equity to fund it upfront. RBF programs need a debt program alongside them.

3️⃣ A policy playbook for Africa. We committed to work together on a playbook that builds on the brief, to help countries roll out mesh-grid regulations faster.

4️⃣ An open invitation to Nigeria. Abba Aliyu invited everyone to come to Nigeria, see a mesh-grid working, and take the lessons from DARES home to write their own regulations.

A big special thank you to our presenters:
Caroline Nijland, GET.invest
Abba Aliyu, REA Nigeria
Adebowale (Debo) Dosunmu, Renewvia Energy
Yann Tanvez, The World Bank Group Bank

And to everyone who joined and pushed the conversation forward.

GET.invest is a European program that mobilizes investment in clean energy, co-funded by the European Union, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria.

23/10/2026

Energizing the hardest to reach with mesh-grids. ⚡

300 million more people across Africa need to be energized by 2030. The question now is how to move fast enough.

On Wednesday 28 October in Kigali, alongside GOGLA 2026, we're bringing regional energy leaders together with REA Nigeria and GET.invest for an invite-only roundtable and workshop.

What's on the table:
🟢 A first look at GET.invest's roadmap for mesh-grids
🟢 Lessons from the team behind Nigeria's DARES rules
🟢 Lessons from the World Bank on technology-agnostic programs
🟢 A starting plan for your own country

Joining us: Abba Aliyu (REA Nigeria), Caroline Nijland (GET.invest), Dosunmu Adebowale (Renewvia Energy) and Yann Tanvez (World Bank).

Seats are limited. If you're shaping energy access in your country, send us a message and we'll get in touch.

22/10/2026

13 weeks. That's our target from a signed MOU to a financed mesh-grid. ⚡

Getting a DARES project over the line means securing sites, surveying communities, applying for the grant, finalising the design and lining up finance, often while grant windows are closing. So we work through every stage alongside our developer partners:

🟢 Partner: an MOU aligns both teams on costs, roles and financing options. Under a Joint Development Agreement, we also sign the exclusivities and run the surveys.

🟢 Select and size: Pipeline Builder shortlists DARES-eligible sites, and we help design a bankable portfolio around the equity and debt available.

🟢 Secure and survey: exclusivities are registered with NERC, and community surveys happen in the same visit.

🟢 Apply: site-specific applications go to REA through Odyssey, with the documents generated in Pipeline Builder.

🟢 Design and contract: our Network Planner re-checks every site, the developer signs off on the final design and financial model, and procurement begins.

🟢 Train and implement: the implementation plan is timed to the DARES grant window, and installation training gets local teams ready to build.

🟢 Financial close: equity and debt are drawn down, and it's time to build.

Swipe through for the full process. Got communities ready to energise? Contact [email protected] 👇

19/10/2026

Bringing Power to the People takes a lot more than building hardware. 🌍

Back in June, our team headed to Mozambique. First stop: RENMOZ’26 in Maputo, where regulators, funders, customers and old friends came together to push off-grid energy access forward.

Then came about 15 hours on the road to Mavalane, a community near Nova Mambone where our partner Captive Power plans to bring mesh-grids. The whole community turned out to welcome us in their traditional way, with dancing and plenty of questions about how mesh-grids work.

Every community has its own character. Here, families live in compounds: one main house with smaller rooms around it, quite different from where we usually deploy. And productive use is already everywhere: corn milling, bread baking, TVs and freezers running.

Our first connections in Mozambique are on the way. Até já! ⚡

16/10/2026

You can’t really talk about poverty without talking about power. 🌍

Ahead of tomorrow’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, it’s worth remembering that 655 million people still live without electricity. Without it, it’s harder to keep a shop open after dark, keep food cold, study at night or grow a small business into something more.

Electricity alone won’t end poverty. But it’s hard to build a living without it.

That’s why Okra exists: to unlock opportunities through energy access for everyone in the world. We build mesh-grid technology that lets energy companies bring reliable power to communities the grid has never reached. Together with our partners, we’ve helped energise more than 45,000 people so far.

There’s a long way to go, and every connection counts. Power to the People. 🔋

16/10/2026

What are engineering students looking for in their first job? We went to the FEUP Career Fair to find out. 🎓

On Wednesday, Diana and Fábio Dias met talented students and recent graduates at our stand, and learned a lot about the fields that excite them, the internships and first jobs they’re after, and what they value in a company. There were plenty of questions about our products and startup life, too.

Thanks to FEUP for a brilliantly organised event!

Keen to help bring Power to the People? See our open roles: okrasolar.com/careers ⚡

15/10/2026

Find the funding before you build. Get paid after you’ve built. That’s the DARES puzzle every developer has to solve. ⚡

Adebowale (Debo) Dosunmu, Managing Director of Renewvia Energy, knows it well. Under Nigeria’s DARES program, the grant is paid once connections are built, so developers need capital upfront.

Renewvia went with mesh-grids because the numbers work: lower CapEx, no expensive distribution lines across multiple sites, and better revenue and consumption. Then they chose Okra Capital to finance the build.

🟢 3,000 connections being built in the first tranche
🟢 6,000+ connections in Renewvia’s DARES grant agreement
🟢 A financing partner that knows the developer, the operations and the team

In Debo’s words, it’s not just financing, it’s a relationship.

Building under DARES and need capital to get started? Get in touch: [email protected]

13/10/2026

Two more developers just signed on to build their DARES pipelines with us. ⚡

Since August, Privida and Saf-Aga Renewable Energy have signed Joint Development Agreements (JDAs) with Okra, bringing a further 34,000 mesh-grid connections into development:

🟢 Privida: Pilot completed & 22,500 mesh-grid connections in Kogi State already submitted to DARES.

🟢 Saf-Aga Renewable Energy: 12,000 connections coming in hot for DARES.

With a JDA, Okra supports on site selection, simulations and exclusivities, the longest stages of project development. Developers get to remove the pain of project development and bring power to the people faster.

More developers are lining up behind them. Want your pipeline in the next wave? Send us a message. 👇

25/09/2026

Mesh-grids are moving faster than anything else in DARES. ⚡

Across First Electric, Sosai and Renewvia, 13,420 connections are already signed, and deployment is well underway. First Electric is energizing communities across three states, with tens of thousands more committed. Sosai is live in Kogi. Renewvia's Akwa Ibom sites are financed, in production, and next in line.

Add it all up, and mesh-grids through DARES are bringing reliable power to more than 60,000 people this year, opening the door to greater independence and new opportunities along the way.
That's exactly why we do this.

And with a strong pipeline still to come, we're only getting started. 🌍

Endereço

Porto

Website

http://www.okrasolar.com/

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