About
A Nigerian company building Africa's distributed grid.
Common Watt was founded in 2026 to do one thing — make electricity an everyday utility for African communities the grid forgot.
Our story.
Common Watt began with a frustration shared by many Nigerians: we live in the largest economy in West Africa, and yet 85 million of us still cannot count on a light bulb staying on. The grid does not serve us reliably, diesel costs more every year, and the solar home systems we can afford struggle to power anything more useful than a few LED bulbs.
We watched European mini-grid operators arrive, build a handful of sites, and either retreat or scale slowly because the regulatory and community work was harder than the engineering. We thought there was a better way: a Nigerian operating company that handles the unglamorous work of permits, payments, and people, partnered with European engineers who handle the systems they already know how to build.
Common Watt is that company. We build the relationships, hold the licences, and run the operations. Our partners bring the technology and the balance sheet. Our customers get power that stays on.
Mission
To make clean, dependable electricity an everyday utility for African communities — starting in Nigeria — by building, financing and operating solar mini-grids that customers subscribe to as a service rather than buy as a product.
Vision
By 2031, one million Africans will receive their daily electricity from a Common Watt grid — powered locally, paid for in small subscriptions, and owned in common with the communities we serve.
How we work.
Local first.
Permits, agents, land, and language. We do the work that doesn't scale until the company does.
Recurring, not transactional.
We sell electricity, not equipment. Our incentives only line up with the customer if the lights stay on.
Partner-led.
We do not invent technology we can license. We partner with the best European mini-grid operators rather than compete with them.
Honest with numbers.
Tariffs, uptime, and unit economics are published. We say "we don't know yet" when we don't know yet.
Owned in common.
Long-term, we want the communities we serve to hold a meaningful share of the Common Watt SPV that powers their town.