My goal is to see increased renewable energy access across Africa in a way that will result in positive development and impact across Nigeria.
*Ifeoma Malo
REchat — a new series on offgridnigeria.com targeted at renewable energy operators had an interview with Ifeoma Malo detailing her experiences, opinions and tips as a practitioner in Nigeria RE sector.
RE-Chat Series: What is your biggest achievement in renewable energy so far? — i.e., what is your proudest moment in your career so far?
Ifeoma Malo: One that is recent and comes easily to mind is the award I received late 2020 “The Power Industry Leader of the Year award”. I was honored to be in the same nomination category with pretty incredible change makers in the energy access sector. Being elected as the winner in that category and in an award that is the most recognized regionally-and globally — was a heartwarming surprise. I was totally honored, humbled and yes, happy. Very happy to have my work and efforts recognized in such a manner. I also acknowledge with humility that the reward for good work is more work, so there is no relenting and the push to end energy poverty across Africa intensifies.
RE-Chat Series: What is your greatest goal in renewable energy?
Ifeoma Malo: The more I travel, the more I see the world is not what it was 10 years ago. There is a rapid change and growth towards cleaner energy globally. This is impacting the utilities of the future and how global energy markets are shaping up. My goal is therefore to see increased renewable energy access across Africa in a way that will result in positive development and impact across Nigeria. — This means that we need to see a quicker uptake of investments and financing in the off grid renewable energy sector, and a proper alignment of all government policies and functionaries in the entire energy access space for optimization and coordination. I have a long wish-list of what I envision for the energy sector really but let’s leave that discussion for some other time (laughs).
RE-Chat Series: We consider the Nigerian renewable energy industry to be burgeoning and thus appears to offer numerous opportunities across several fields (technical, sales, finance, advocacy and policy etc.) for anyone to dive in and play. However, in practice, what is it like to actually get into your field and be an excellent player? ie. How does being a woman affect your everyday work (whether positively or negatively), How does gender and competence interplay in your particular subsector? How frequently do you get remarks (whether positive or negative) about your gender in relation to your work in renewable energy (Include an example if possible)? What does the field you play in currently look like gender wise (number of men vs women).
Ifeoma Malo: Yes, that is very correct. The RE sector is developing rapidly compared to what we’ve had in past years. To be an excellent player in the field is quite interesting, however it is full of highs and lows, and you must be ready to work twice as hard and as long.
However despite the public prominence of women in the Renewable Energy sector, the numbers show that this is still relatively a male-dominated sector in the ratio of 4:1. We do recognize though that this is slowly changing, and that with the amount of women focused businesses in the renewable energy field, we know that we will someday reach gender parity in terms of opportunities.
Where we need to do some work to reach this number in parity is in terms of creating opportunities, supporting younger women to enter the sector, and to ensure an improved and sustainable pay scale for women. It is also important that as women, that in our everyday work, we have to be deliberate with the choices we make when they enter the sector. We must be innovative, proactive, and resilient and must leverage on any opportunity that comes their way in order to grow and succeed in this profession.
The energy sector generally is a place where young female leaders should be able to thrive and even become change agents. There is the need to create more balance in the sector, and women must be participants in driving Africa’s energy future. As younger women define their career path, it is important to note that there would be obstacles, but that they are not insurmountable, they might have to open doors themselves and more importantly they might have to drop their ego at the door. Also worthy of note is the place of hard work and the need for younger women to understand that they have to put in twice as much work to get even half the recognition needed for their work, as nothing will be handed to them easily just because they are women. I also strongly believe that women must be encouraged and supported in the workplace to grow our economy in any meaningful way. So support women, grow women and promote women to grow the economy and the nation.
*Ifeoma Malo is the Founder and CEO of Clean Technology Hub
