Solar Instalment Plans and Financing in Nigeria

A 5kVA hybrid with lithium costs more than most Nigerian households can pay in one transfer. So the market invented pay small small: a deposit, the system installed, the balance over months. It is the reason solar has spread the way it has, and it is the reason half the installers in the country are owed money they cannot see.

This page is about running that plan properly, and knowing when to hand a customer to a financier instead.

Your own plan versus a financier

Your own plan. Deposit, commonly around 40 percent. Balance over six to twelve months. You install after the deposit and carry the balance. It closes deals a full-payment demand would lose, and it works when the amount is one your company can carry and the customer is one you would lend to.

A bank or fintech. For larger systems, longer tenors, and customers who need credit rather than a payment schedule. As of 2026, installers point customers to bank schemes such as Fidelity Bank’s green energy finance and Access Bank’s Switch to Solar, and to pay-as-you-go and lease platforms. Terms change; check them with the financier before you promise anything. Your role is the quote, the install and the documentation the financier needs.

The rule of thumb. If you would lose sleep carrying the balance, it is a financier’s customer. If you would not, it is yours, and then the only job is collecting on time.

Where installer plans fail

Not at the deposit. At instalment seven.

The deposit is exciting for everyone. The install is a good day. Then the balance goes into a notebook, or a spreadsheet, or a salesperson’s memory, and for six months nothing is wrong. Then the salesperson leaves, or the notebook is in the office, or somebody just forgets, and you discover in month ten that four customers are three instalments behind and nobody said anything.

The customer usually did not refuse to pay. Nobody reminded him, and a solar instalment is easy to forget when the lights are on.

How to run a plan that collects itself

1. The plan is the record. Deposit amount, tenor, instalment amount, dates. Set up once on the customer’s deal, not written down somewhere.
2. Every instalment is an invoice with a date. It goes out on that date in Naira, on WhatsApp, with a payment link.
3. A reminder before it is due. Three days before, not the day after.
4. A receipt when it lands. Whether paid through the link or by transfer. The customer always knows where he stands.
5. A list of who is behind, on day one. Not month three. Filter by days late.
6. A follow-up that runs. A reminder, then a person, then a conversation about restructuring if the customer is honest.
7. Your agreement says what happens after that. Software makes sure you are never surprised. The agreement handles what you do about it.

The financing customer

When a bank or fintech is paying you, the customer’s plan is with them, not you. What you still need: the financing arrangement recorded on the deal, the documents the financier asked for attached to it, and the follow-up on the financier’s approval, which can take weeks and is where these deals go quiet.

How GrowUp Business does it

Deposit and instalment plans are set up for how you sell. Each invoice goes out on its date in Naira with a payment link and a reminder before. Receipts go out when payments land, by link or transfer. Who is behind is one screen, filterable by days late, with a follow-up sequence that runs and then hands to a person. Financing arrangements and their documents sit on the deal. What is paid and what is owed sits on every customer’s record. It is your own plan, run without a notebook. GrowUp Business is not a lender; when a bank is financing, it tracks the deal and the paperwork.

Before the instalments there is the quote that has to close: the follow-up page. For the whole journey, read the solar software page.

Common questions

What does pay small small mean for solar in Nigeria?

A deposit upfront, commonly around 40 percent, then the balance spread over a tenor, commonly six to twelve months for an installer's own plan and up to 24 to 48 months when a bank is financing. The system is installed after the deposit. The customer pays monthly. The installer carries the risk, which is why collecting on time is the whole business.

Should a solar company run its own instalment plan or use a financier?

Both, for different customers. Your own plan works for a deposit-heavy, short tenor sale where you know the customer and the amount is one you can carry. A bank or fintech works for larger systems, longer tenors and customers who need the credit. As of 2026, options installers point customers to include bank schemes such as Fidelity's green energy finance and Access Bank's Switch to Solar, and pay-as-you-go platforms. Check current terms with each, they change.

How do I stop instalments being missed?

Stop running them from memory. Each instalment is an invoice with a date. It goes out on that date in Naira with a reminder a few days before. When it is paid, a receipt goes out. When it is not, the customer is on a list you can see on day one, not month three, and a follow-up runs. Most missed instalments are not refusals. They are forgetting, and forgetting is fixable.

What happens if a customer stops paying?

First, the system tells you early, which is most of the battle. Then a follow-up sequence: a reminder, a call from a person, a restructured plan if the customer is honest about a bad month. Your agreement should say what happens after that. Software cannot recover a bad debt, but it can make sure you are never surprised by one.

Can the deposit and instalments be paid by transfer?

Yes. Each invoice carries a payment link, and customers who prefer bank transfer pay that way. Either way the payment is recorded against their plan with a receipt, and what is paid and what is left is on their record. What matters is that the record is the system, not a notebook.

How do I see who is behind across all customers?

One screen: every active plan, the next due date, and who has missed. Filter by how many days late. This list is the difference between a solar company with cash flow and one with a notebook full of promises.