Schneider Electric, a leading global company specialising in energy management and automation and offering various integrated energy solutions to its customers, launched the Villaya Flex microgrid solution to serve off-grid communities thanks to its Access to Energy (A2E) programme.
Schneider Electric announced this launch at a press briefing at the Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF) Conference, held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, Nigeria, with a focus on universal access to sustainable energy solutions.
Present at the press conference were key representatives from Schneider Electric: Ajibola Akindele, Country President, Schneider Electric West Africa; Thomas Bonicel, Director MEAS, Access to Energy, Schneider Electric; Teina Teibowei, Commercial Leader, Microgrid, Schneider Electric; Omobolanle Omotayo, Marketing Communication Manager, Schneider Electric West Africa; and media representatives, amongst others.
The A2E programme is part of Schneider Electric’s commitment to fulfilling sustainable development goals by alleviating poverty and protecting the environment while growing economically in a green and sustainable manner.
Addressing Schneider Electric's impact and the transformative initiatives undertaken across Africa and in Nigeria, Ajibola Akindele, Country President, Schneider Electric West Africa, said, “Schneider Electric is a company that is almost 200 years old. We are a global company—a global company with a local presence in over 110 countries and 150 thousand employees across the world. Our mission is to be a global digital partner for sustainability and efficiency, empowering all to make the most of our energy resources and bridge progress and sustainability for all."
He added that they have over a hundred partners serving all their customers in regions they serve across various industries: power sector, real estate, transportation, oil and gas, telecommunication, and travel and tourism.
Akindele said that with a million electricians, 6,000+ official distributors of Schneider Electric, and 120 thousand point-of-sale distributors, Schneider Electric is a diversified company closely knit to our customers and delivering solutions that address the Nigerian market.
Thomas Bonicel, speaking on Schneider Electric's A2E programme, emphasised the programme's mission to empower communities through clean and reliable energy access.
He said, “Schneider Electric’s Access to Energy programme provides comprehensive approaches to support universal access to sustainable, safe, and clean energy for developing countries, including Africa, which includes training and entrepreneurship programmes, social and inclusive business, and investment funds. By 2030, we want to be net zero-ready in all our operations, with an end-to-end carbon-neutral value chain by 2040 and a net zero C02 value chain by 2050.
According to Bonicel, Schneider Electric has a wide range of access-to-energy solutions suitable for electrifying small homes and micro-enterprises, fundamental public services, and villages and communities.

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He also pointed out that there are over 700 million people across the world without access to energy, 600 million in Africa and 95 million in Nigeria. He said, "We have decided to deploy our Access to Energy solutions in Nigeria.
Our major KPI is the impact measured by the quantity of connected people and with Villaya Flex, the latest Schneider Electric innovation, we are ready to support independent electricity access and renewable energy adoption in remote villages and off-grid communities.”
Teina Teibowei highlighted that the “Villaya Flex is a packaged, comprehensive microgrid solution that maximises solar energy to minimise reliance on polluting generators. It incorporates smart monitoring and an integrated management system to efficiently manage multiple energy sources, ultimately optimising the mini-grid's performance. Specifically designed for rural, off-the-grid communities, it aims to ensure a dependable and sustainable energy supply to meet daily needs and power productive economic activities in these communities.”
Teina also noted the Nigerian government and the World Bank's joint efforts to extend electricity access to rural Nigerian villages. Schneider Electric's Villaya Flex microgrid solution is well-positioned to tackle the electrification challenges of these remote communities, potentially serving as a valuable asset for the World Bank's Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project.
According to the representatives, Schneider Electric is committed to providing access to clean electricity to 50 million people by 2025 and 100 million by 2030. To date, 46.5 million people have already benefited from Schneider’s energy access solutions. Through innovative solutions like Villaya Flex, Schneider Electric aims to continue to drive positive change, enabling sustainable development and resilience in off-grid communities across Africa.