Featured Image: A cross-section of the EIP 2022 Cohort and the All On/NCIC Team
Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC) with support from All On Hub, is pleased to announce winners of the 2022 edition of their annual ideation incubation program for early-stage renewable energy entrepreneurs. They are: Retile, Powerbox Energy Systems, Danwawo Group LTD, Energy Assured, Solaris GreenTech Hub, Nutriden Agriculture Concept, Letcold Nigeria LTD, Swift Tranzact.
The demo day event which took place on Thursday, October 27, 2022, at the All On Hub multi-purpose hall in Ikoyi, Lagos was organized by NCIC with the support of All On via its technical support facility, the Rockefeller Foundation funded All On Hub. The Demo Day event marks the completion of the Embryo Incubation program and gives each participant the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a seasoned panel of industry experts for a chance to receive an equity-free grant of 10,000 USD.
Speaking at the event, the CEO of NCIC Mr. Bankole Oloruntoba reiterated the organization’s commitment to the growth of renewable energy start-ups in Nigeria. He reflected on the journey of the Embryo Incubation Program noting that a total of 50 ideation stage businesses have so far gone through the program with 16 receiving a total of $160,000 in equity-free grant funding. In his remarks he thanked All On for its partnership and technical support on the Embryo Incubation which over the last three years have provided capacity building and funding to ideation stage renewable energy businesses in Nigeria. Bankole charged the entrepreneurs to remain focused and maximize the resources available to them through the NCIC network to accelerate their businesses drawing inspiration from notable Alumni from the previous cohorts.
The third cohort of the incubation program, which started in May 2022, was designed to close Nigeria’s energy access gap by building a pipeline of early-stage renewable energy enterprises with the potential to scale. The training curriculum covered a wide range of technical and non-technical subjects including strategy and planning, product development, regulatory environment, marketing, finance, and fund-raising.
This year, the program received 290 applications from which 18 ventures were shortlisted and completed the 6-month incubation program conducted by the NCIC.
The members of the 2022 cohort are: Retile, Magtech Digital Hub, Lumos Laboratories, Stellar Power and Energies, Powerbox Energy Systems, Danwawo Group LTD, Energy Assured, Ecovirun, Solaris GreenTech Hub, MadeCore Solar, Green Focus Technologies, Nutriden Agriculture Concept, Manion Power and Energy LTD, Let It Cold Nigeria LTD, Swift Tranzact, Ceneco Green Power Ltd, Grintech Systems, and Evergreen Technology Enterprise.
In her address, All On CEO Caroline Eboumbou congratulated the participants and commended them for their dedication to supporting clean energy transition with their bold ideas. She noted that “the shared vision of All On and NCIC has been to groom early-stage clean energy entrepreneurs, providing them with the key ingredients to enable their dreams of impacting unserved communities a reality”. She further charged the entrepreneurs not to relent and reaffirmed All On’s commitment to their continued development in the future.
Of the eight (8) winning pitches, four (4) were delivered by women founders/CEOs – a notable sign of the positive strides being made by women entrepreneurs in the sector. The women-led ventures are: Let It Cold, Energy Assured, Danwawo and Solaris.
One of the female recipients of the $10,000 grant, Zainab Abdulwaheed, co-founder of Let It Cold, thanked All On and NCIC for the opportunity. “My business has benefited from my participation in the incubation program over the last six months, and we have improved our understanding of how a business operates,” she added.
“My business has benefited from my participation in the incubation program over the last six months, and we have improved our understanding of how a business operates,”
Zainab Abdulwaheed, co-founder of Let It Cold, EIP 3 Grant Winner
According to judge Damilola Asaleye, Vice President, Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN), “the innovative ideas during this year’s incubation program were outstanding, original, and demonstrated sustainability. The quality of the pitches was top-notch. They all demonstrated that Africa and Nigeria can solve energy poverty with locally developed solutions. NCIC and All On are truly unlocking potential.”
The All On Hub manager, Sele Inegbedion affirmed the success of the EIP over the last 3 years. According to him “The All On Hub has deployed $240,000 to this program series in grant awards, and it has proven to be a worthwhile commitment. The progress made by alumni entrepreneurs is a testament to the value in this program, and the quality of pitch presentations at today’s event gives strong promise for the future of energy access in Nigeria. We look forward to continued partnership with NCIC, as we deepen our support to these bright ventures.”
Some of the clean energy ideas presented at this year’s pitching event include solar-powered cooling systems, cold storage solutions, solar home systems (SHS), solar generators, energy efficiency technologies, and biogas production.
About the Nigeria Climate Innovation Center
Nigeria Climate Innovation Center was created in 2018 by the World Bank and the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Office of the Vice President with the mandate to lead the growth of the Nigerian green economy in developing and deploying solutions to climate change challenges, with footprints in venture development, green investment and capacity building services to climate-smart entrepreneurs. NCIC’s primary thematic areas of engagement include renewable energy, waste management, smart agriculture, and innovative water solutions.
For more information about NCIC, log on to: www.nigeriacic.org
Media Contact: Daniel Oladoja, doladoja@nigeriacic.org , +234 803 728 5176
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, visit www.all-on.com
Media Contact: Wisdom Chapp-Jumbo, wisdom.chappjumbo@all-on.com , +234 708 358 7365
