By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
The 2021 Enterprise Development Program (EDP) has selected seven Nigerian clean energy start-up ventures to each receive a $10,000 grant award. The 7 emerged as winners with the most innovative concepts.
The winners are: Brigter, Kodar Embedded Technologies, Osomobegbe Global Ventures (OGV), Renerworld Global, Rural LightsUp Energy, Switch Solar, and Solconomy.
The EDP is an incubation program run by Clean Technology Incubation and Acceleration Foundation (Clean Tech Hub) and sponsored by All On and the Rockefeller Foundation via the All On Hub.
This year’s grantees were selected from 17 finalists, of which eight have women in senior management. They went through the 6-month online incubation program, commencing in July 2021 and culminating in a live demo day pitch event in Abuja on 10 December 2021. Pitches included innovative energy storage, an AI-driven training platform, e-mobility, energy efficiency & monitoring tech, mini grid, SHS and waste-to-energy solutions.
The finalists were trained on various subjects aimed at enhancing their business acumen. Topics included strategy and business planning, product development, policy & regulatory environment, business finance, customer discovery& market segmentation, capital raising and pitching.
A total of 175 entrepreneurs and ventures applied for the 2021 program, representing an increase of 64% from the previous year’s 107 applications.
“We are very pleased with our seamless collaboration with All On for the second year in a row, investing in much needed sectoral development. I implore all cohorts, win or lose, to keep plugging away and building on those innovative ideas you believe in and at some point, that work will be recognized in even greater ways,” said Ify Malo, executive director, Clean Tech Hub.
The objective of the incubation program is to train and support renewable energy entrepreneurs to move innovative ideas from ideation or concept to implementation. The program, now in its second year, has helped 30entrepreneurs upskill significantly, with grant winners utilizing the funds to refine their product concepts, build out prototypes, recruit talent and pilot solutions.
“The capital means scalability and more impact for my business and will enable us reach more farmers in our community and save over 100 metric tons of perishable vegetables from spoilage,” said Nentaweh Othman, co-founder, Osomobegbe Global Ventures (OGV).
“I gained a lot from the incubation program from business structuring to financial management and marketing…As a female Co-founder it means courage and endless possibilities for women in the renewable energy sector,” she said.
Bolaji Onolaja of Switch Solar echoed similar sentiments,
“The program was very beneficial to the team, and was a great learning experience. We’ve worked hard throughout the year so it’s great being recognized for the work already done…In addition, the affiliation with a large investment company like All On at this stage, gives us access to more resources to scale even quicker.”
The All On Hub, which is funded and supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, oversaw the program’s coordination as part of a larger technical support program for off grid energy companies in Nigeria.
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