The US Startup Controlling Nigeria’s $1.1bn Clean Energy Pipeline Just Raised $74m

Odyssey Energy Solutions, a Boulder-based digital platform that has become the operational backbone for Nigeria’s state-backed electrification programmes, has raised $74 million in fresh capital to scale its distributed renewable energy financing model across Asia, Africa and Latin America. The package includes a $27 million equity round and $47 million in debt, bringing Odyssey’s total capital raised to $94 million after a $15 million Series A in May 2023.

Direct quote

“The focus of financing for distributed renewable energy has historically been on post-construction capital — funding that flows once a project is built,” said Emily McAteer, co-founder and chief executive officer of Odyssey Energy Solutions. “That has left a significant gap upstream, where thousands of small and medium EPCs and installers lack the working capital needed to procure equipment, complete construction, and unlock customer payments. Odyssey bridges this gap directly, providing companies with the equipment pricing and financing they need to accelerate project delivery.”

Deal details and investors

New equity investors in the $27 million round include Broadscale Group, FMO and Morocco’s Al Mada Ventures. Existing backers that continued to participate include Union Square Ventures, Equal Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Twelve Below, FJ Labs, MCJ and Transition Ventures. Debt financing partners providing the $47 million tranche include British International Investment, Belgium’s BIO, the Facility for Energy Inclusion represented by Cygnum Capital, and the Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund represented by TripleJump.

• Equity: $27 million
• Debt: $47 million
• Total new capital: $74 million
• Total raised to date: $94 million

Context and operational footprint

Founded in 2017, Odyssey operates an end-to-end technology platform connecting more than 6,000 solar installers and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms with financiers and equipment suppliers across more than 50 countries. The company reports it has facilitated access to $3.6 billion in capital for distributed energy projects and has unlocked 1.5 GW of projects to date.

In 2024 Odyssey launched a procurement platform that aggregates equipment orders across smaller buyers to secure volume pricing and provides embedded supply-chain credit. That upstream focus—providing working capital and procurement scale before construction—targets a persistent industry challenge: financing tends to arrive after projects are built, leaving installers and EPCs unable to take on and complete new work.

The new funding arrives as demand for distributed solar surges in Odyssey’s core markets. In Nigeria, for example, diesel backup generators supply more electricity than grid-connected power plants, and diesel prices spiked more than 93% between February and April 2026 following supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, underlining the economic case for distributed renewables.

Outlook

Odyssey plans to deploy the fresh capital to expand its model across Asia, Africa and Latin America, scaling procurement aggregation, embedded supply-chain credit and upstream working capital facilities for small and medium EPCs and installers. By bridging the financing gap ahead of construction, the company aims to accelerate project delivery and unlock further flows of capital into distributed renewable energy—targeting both equipment affordability and the working-capital constraints that have historically slowed deployment.