by Ken Silverstein | May 8, 2026 | Announcements, Blog, News, Uncategorized
The lights in Lagos, Nigeria, go out between 30 and 60 times a month. When power does flow, it lasts perhaps six to eight hours a day—enough to charge a phone, but not nearly enough to run a factory. It is the same story in Nairobi, Lusaka, and Dakar— cities that are technically electrified.
At a moment when artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and the clean-energy transition are rewriting the global economic order, Africa’s commercial hubs risk getting left behind again—not because they lack wires, but because the electrons flowing through those networks are unreliable, untracked, and leaking.
That is the argument Bim Adisa has been making to utilities, investors, and anyone who will listen. Adisa is the founder and CEO of Beacon Power Services, a Nigerian-based firm that builds data and software solutions for African power grids. His pitch is equal parts engineering lecture and economic manifesto: the path to a more stable, prosperous world runs through the transformer stations of sub-Saharan Africa, and the technology to fix them already exists.
“No economy grows without electricity. It’s fundamental to industrialization, and in the 21st century, to digitization. Africa missed the last industrial revolution. Now we’re having another one, underpinned by electricity. It’s really critical that we fix the electricity problem now,” Adisa told me in a virtual interview.
The common narrative around African electrification fixates on the roughly 600 million people who have no access to electricity at all. That number is real—and damning. But just as important is that somewhere between 500 and 600 million Africans do have grid connections, yet those networks fail them daily.
Read the rest of the article on the Forbes website
by Oluchi Ubazue | Jan 21, 2026 | Announcements, News
Symbiotics, the leading market access platform for impact investing, has facilitated a debt facility for Beacon Power Services (BPS). BPS is an energy-tech company that provides data and grid management solutions for electricity utilities, helping improve grid reliability across Africa. The financing will help BPS expand its product offerings in Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Tanzania, and Togo, primarily by purchasing and deploying smart meters for grid assets, such as substations and transformers.
Electricity grids across Africa are largely unreliable, with customers experiencing frequent and extended power outages. Without a stable grid, many households, businesses, and social facilities depend on expensive self-generated electricity, placing a heavy burden on vulnerable populations.
High distribution losses are among the root causes of poor grid reliability. In Nigeria, for example, grid losses exceed 40% due to outdated infrastructure, electricity theft, and inaccurate billing practices. These inefficiencies severely limit utilities’ ability to reinvest in essential upgrades and maintenance, exacerbating the energy access deficit in the region.
Powered by its proprietary software, developed entirely in Africa, and enabled by a network of field operators, BPS’s solutions are designed to help utilities across the continent increase revenue and reduce grid losses. These solutions include a GIS-enabled platform and a front-end application to map grid assets and customers. It also includes a grid visibility platform to track the flow of electricity from source to customers in real time, and revenue protection functionality to perform network accounting and ensure revenue recovery. The outage management module not only detects the location of outages but also uses AI to preempt and prevent outages.
For most consumers in Africa, the alternative to the grid is self-generation, typically using diesel fuel. As such, by making the grid more reliable, BPS is significantly reducing CO2 emissions. Through its partnerships with electricity distributors in five African countries, BPS currently impacts over 50 million individuals and businesses, providing more reliable electricity.
“Symbiotics is thrilled to support Beacon Power Services in its mission to improve energy access and reliability in Africa. Access to reliable power is key to unlocking economic growth in the region,” said Vincent Lehner, Head of Markets at Symbiotics. “This investment is aligned with our view that companies combining deep knowledge in the challenges on the ground with innovative tech-focused solutions, such as Beacon Power Services, can have transformational social and climate impact in emerging and frontier markets.”
“This debt facility provided by Symbiotics strongly enhances our efforts to modernize electricity distribution in Africa. Deploying smart meters to monitor critical grid assets is essential to reducing grid losses and improving reliability. We appreciate Symbiotics’ support in helping us increase our capacity to serve electricity utilities in building modern grid systems across Africa,” said Bim Adisa, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of BPS.
This partnership aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. It reinforces Symbiotics’ mission to finance high-impact solutions that address climate and social challenges in underserved markets through innovative, scalable approaches.
For more information, contact:
Samy Derradji, Head of Corporate Communication, Symbiotics
samy.derradji@symbioticsgroup.com
Oluchi Ubazue, Communications Manager, Beacon Power Services
oluchiu@bpsafrica.com ||comms@bpsafrica.com
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About Symbiotics
Symbiotics is the leading market access platform for impact investing, dedicated to private markets in emerging and frontier economies. The group offers investment, asset management, and capacity building services. Since 2005, we have originated over 8,200 investments representing more than USD 10.5 billion for 608 companies in 99 countries. We manage an aggregate portfolio of USD 2.5 billion spread across 19 funds and mandates. Our portfolio companies have also benefited from over 170 technical assistance projects worth more than USD 19 million. symbioticsgroup.com
About Beacon Power Services
Beacon Power Services (BPS) is a leading energy-tech company delivering data-driven solutions that help African electricity utilities improve grid performance and reliability. BPS provides real-time visibility, smart metering support, and AI-powered tools that help utilities increase revenue, reduce losses, and strengthen grid reliability, all while improving customer satisfaction. Active in Africa, BPS is committed to enabling efficient, modern, and resilient electricity distribution networks across the continent. bpsafrica.com
