The winners of the 2020 edition of the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre’s (NCIC) Embryo Incubation Program, sponsored by the All On Hub, were announced today on the Power Solutions Radio Show on Nigeria Info FM in Lagos and online.
They are: Afrinet Power, Bin Energy, Climate Innovation Motors, Homefort Energy, MySolarBid, Quadcycle Nigeria, Sollef and Quadloop.
Twelve renewable energy start-ups have successfully completed a 16-week incubation program run by the NCIC and funded and supported by off-grid energy impact investment company All On, via its technical support facility the All On Hub.
The participants received training and support in a variety of areas aimed at developing their business knowledge and commercial skillset.
Such aspects included strategy and planning, product development, regulatory environment, marketing, finance and fund-raising.
“We were very impressed by the quality of the business pitches made by the ventures at the end of the entire training program. The overall standard speaks to the hard work and commitment of the entrepreneurs, the quality of our training facilitators and the potential of the ventures,” said CEO of NCIC, Bankole Oloruntoba.
“We are pleased to announce that the best eight business pitches will each be awarded a $10,000 grant to further develop their business ideas.”
The All On Hub, which is funded and supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, oversaw the coordination of the training events, with team members traveling to the various centres to ensure adequacy of the facilities and smooth running of the training sessions.
The program transitioned to virtual training to overcome disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Hub was created to build a pipeline of sustainable off-grid energy businesses in Nigeria, which can help provide electricity powered by renewable energy to some of the 28 million households and 11 million Small and Medium Enterprises that still lack access to reliable on-grid energy in the country.
“We are pleased to have partnered with NCIC by sponsoring this program which groomed 12 energy entrepreneurs, taking their innovations from mere ideas to proper, marketable business concepts,” said All On Hub Manager, Sele Inegbedion.
“This underscores our unwavering commitment to support the development of the Nigerian off-grid energy sector in order to close the country’s access-to-energy gap.”
Some innovations from the winning business ideas include the development of electric vehicles and charging stations, energy efficiency technologies, biogas production and systems built on IoT technology.
Nigeria Climate Innovation Center (NCIC) 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.
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.
