Winners of the 2020 edition of the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre's (NCIC) embryo incubation programme are known. They are eight Nigerian start-ups specialising in renewable energy. The companies will each receive a $10,000 grant (more than 3.8 million Nigerian Naira) from All On, a Shell-funded investment company.
Afrinet Power, Bin Energy, Climate Innovation Motors, Homefort Energy, MySolarBid, Quadcycle Nigeria, Sollef and Quadloop are the winning start-ups in the 2020 edition of the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre’s (NCIC) incubation programme.
The eight start-ups, which operate in the renewable energy sector, were selected in a national competition in which 12 green start-ups participated.
An initiative funded by All on
The competition between the different Nigerian start-up was organised following 16 weeks of training in various areas including strategy and planning, product development, regulatory environment, marketing, finance and fundraising. The objective was to take the innovations of the 12 start-ups from simple ideas to appropriate and marketable business concepts. “We were very impressed with the quality of the business presentations made by the start-ups, particularly those of Afrinet Power, Bin Energy, Climate Innovation Motors, Homefort Energy, MySolarBid, Quadcycle Nigeria, Sollef and Quadloop, at the end of the entire annual training programme,” said Bankole Oloruntoba, CEO of the NCIC.
The Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre’s training programme has been funded and supported by All On through its technical support centre, the All On Hub. The Hub was created to build a network of off-grid sustainable energy companies in Nigeria. The investment company All On, funded by Shell (an Anglo-Dutch multinational based in the Netherlands) will also provide a grant of US$10,000 (over 3.8 million Nigerian Naira) to each of the winning start-ups to develop their business ideas.
Some of the award-winning green energy projects
Among the renewable energy initiatives presented by start-ups at the 2020 NCIC are projects to develop electric vehicles and charging stations. They are led by the companies Quadcycle and Quadloop.
Energy efficiency was at the heart of the initiative of Nigerian start-up Afrinet Power. The company provides people with an “inverter-free” solar power solution that provides affordable off-grid electricity to power Nigeria’s homes and businesses.
A project for biogas production and systems based on IoT (Internet of Things) technology, which allows for scheduled maintenance and saves customers time and money, was also presented by HomeFort Energy at the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC). The clean energy start-up is making cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) affordable and accessible to underserved markets, using the “pay as you go” model.
Inès Magoum
