CTIAF and All On award seven clean energy startups with $70,000 in grants.
Abuja, 17th December 2021 — For the second consecutive year, Nigeria’s leading clean energy incubator, Clean Tech Innovation and Acceleration Foundation (CTIAF) with the generous support of All On, awarded seven innovative renewable energy startups with $70,000 in grants. The awards were given during CTIAF/All On’s Demo Day event on 10th December 2021. The event was a culmination of a six-month incubation program, where 17 pre-seed and ideation stage startups received thorough business development knowledge and mentorship support from seasoned professionals across different industries.
“It has been fantastic delivering this sector-building initiative alongside the Clean Tech Hub for a second year. With the level of interest in the program and the quality of entrepreneurs and innovate ideas coming through, we remain convinced of a brighter future for Nigeria” said Sele Inegbedion, All On Hub Manager. “This program has again highlighted how critical such initiatives and collaborations are to a growing Nigerian renewable energy sector.”
All 17 cohorts pitched their innovative ideas, both physically and virtually to an esteemed judging panel of industry experts. The panel comprised of Ms Hannah Kabir, CEO, Creeds Energy; Mr Chibuikem Agbaegbu, Country Manager, ACE TAF; Mr David Arinze, Program Officer, Off-Grid Energy, Diamond Development Initiatives and Mr Terkuma Ivande, COO, Prado Power Ltd. The businesses included: Brigter, Brycoal, OGV Solar Drying Center, Solconomy, Rural Lights-Up Energy, Kodar Tech, Ina Lite, Sango Technology, Renerworld Global, Switch Solar, Innovation City Ventures, Blieu Intelligence Automation, Iergy, REkademy, Moon Innovations, Cellone and Swift Eco-friendly Solutions.
Across five hours, these incubates were judged using industry-specific criteria: market potential, social impact, innovation potential, climate impact, the strength of the management team and most importantly, a highly distinctive product providing increased energy access and productive use with the potential to create greater employment opportunities. While the judges deliberated and collated points, the incubates listened to testimonials from the previous year’s cohorts as well as a fireside chat session which saw Ms Talatu Tarfa, Deputy Manager, Energy Access at Clean Tech Hub in discussion with Mr Ifeanyi Orajaka, Founder/CEO of GVE.
Following the collation of points meted out by the judges, seven startups were selected as being recipients of a $10,000 grant. The 2021 winners were: Brigter, Solconomy, OGV Solar Drying Center, Rural Lights-Up Energy, Kodartech, Switch Solar and Renerworld Global Ltd. Speaking on the success of the program, Ify Malo, Founder and CEO, CTIAF, congratulated the grantees, citing All On as a vision supporter and thanked them for their partnership, she remarked, “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 that innovative idea you believe in and at some point, that work will be recognized in even greater ways.” She further highlighted niche opportunities for funding that CTIAF could provide for them in the coming year.
About Clean Technology Incubation and Acceleration Foundation
Clean Tech Incubation and Acceleration Foundation is a pioneering hybrid hub for the research, development, demonstration and incubation of clean and green ideas and technologies in Africa, and their validation for commercial-stage development. It is also an early start-up incubator for inventions and innovations in clean energy, a consultancy for sustainability and energy efficiency solutions, and a driver of clean energy and climate-smart investments into Africa.
For more information visit www.cleantechnologyhub.org
Contact: Chisom Udemezue, info@cleantechnologyhub.org +234 809 602 4444
About All On
All On, an independent impact investing company, was seeded with funding from Shell and works with partners to increase access to commercial energy products and services for unserved and underserved off-grid energy markets in Nigeria, with a special focus on the Niger Delta. All On invests in off-grid energy solutions spanning solar, wind, hydro, biomass and gas technologies deployed by both foreign and local access-to-energy companies that complement available grid power across Nigeria and help bridge its significant energy gap. The All On Hub is funded and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. To learn more, please visit www.all-on.com
