”To be passionate about Africa is to believe in Africa, understand Africa” The
above words from Jean Claude Bastos De Morais, the Founding Board
member of African Innovation Foundation (AIF) were enough motivation for
Justus Nwaoga, the Chief Technologist in the Department of
Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry University of Nigeria Nsukka to
begin the journey of changing Nigeria’s electricity supply via renewable
energy.
Pharmacist
Justus Nwaoga set out a project solely focused on Africa’s Solar energy
market, believing that it is possible to have clean, renewable solar
energy powered by African solar panels. He arrived at an understanding
that Mimosa can utilize solar power system, so he converted Mimosa’s
sensitivity to sunlight into what is now called the Mimosa Solar
Panels.
In
an age were there are complains about power outage, recession and lack
of opportunities, Michael is seeing the need to provide that which is
lacking, he is solving the power challenge using his own invention
because he understands how dependency on energy is the key to unlocking
potentials and market values. Think about it, his invention is 100%
novel and the power is energy saving, solar, clean and renewableSustainable Energy using the organic medicinal African weed, mimosa pudica” commonly known as “touch and die”.
“This
plant, he began ”is a common weed around us, children sometimes plays
with, when someone touches it, it closes itself and after sometime it
will reopen. So as a pharmacist I wasn’t really looking at the weed, I
was fascinated at its reaction to sunlight and got more interested in
what’s making it react to radiation. I was certain this would be a huge
business opportunity that will not only change the solar power market
but also provide jobs for our labour market.
It
is a fact that one in five people still lacks access to modern
electricity as 3 billion people rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal
waste for cooking and heating. More so, research has also shown that
Energy is the dominant contributor to climate change because it is
accounting for around 60 per cent of total global greenhouse gas
emissions. Consequently, reducing the carbon intensity of energy is a
key objective in long-term climate goals now.
If
we are to ensure access to affordable, reliable and modern energy, all
has to come one step closer to embracing recent progress in
electrification, particularly in Local Development Councils, However,
national priorities and policy ambitions still need to be strengthened
to put the world on track to meet the energy targets for 2030. From 2000
to 2016, the proportion of the global population with access to
electricity increased from 78 per cent to 87 per cent, with the absolute
number of people living without electricity dipping to just below 1
billion.
Green
finance is one business opportunity people can tap into, it is an
opening that centres on supporting local, community-level projects, with
an emphasis on sustainable, ecologically friendly agriculture. Green
finance is usually concerned with providing educational opportunities,
funding for artistic endeavours and projects that support local ecology.
A typical example is The Bank of Industry (BOI) recent upward review of
its Solar Energy Fund to N6 billion. This Solar Energy Fund is to
enable various categories of End users (Commercial and Residential)
acquire reliable solar solutions. As opposed to more conventional
companies in the world of finance, green finance is preoccupied with
social profitability.
While
monetary profit remains important, the goal of green finance is to
support beneficial projects that provide value to the local community
and ecology. In fact, green financial institutions can fill a void to
realize a positive project that otherwise would not exist that truly
benefits the community.
Today,
four-fifths of all electricity in southern and eastern Africa is
generated from fossil fuels which process involves burning these fuels
to produce carbon dioxide emissions that trap the sun’s energy, thereby
making our Earth too warm and contributes to extreme weather events. But
this is also where alternative for cleaner energy, known as renewable
energy sources, offer tremendous potential. With the right
infrastructure, half of all electricity in southern and eastern Africa
could come from clean, cost-effective renewable by 2030. We would then
see a substantial reduction in carbon dioxide emissionsIn
the least developed countries, the proportion of the people with access
to electricity more than doubled between 2000 and 2016. In 2016, 3
billion people (41 per cent of the world’s population) were still
cooking with polluting fuel and stove combinations. The share of
renewable in final energy consumption increased modestly, from 17.3 per
cent in 2014 to 17.5 per cent in 2015. Yet only 55 per cent of the
renewable share was derived from modern forms of renewable energy.
Global energy intensity decreased by 2.8 per cent from 2014 to 2015,
double the rate of improvement seen between 1990 and 2010.
Today,
consumers are just as interested in corporate social responsibility
(CSR) as they are in a company’s products and services. This is
especially good news for eco-minded entrepreneurs. Uzochukwu Mbamalu a
2014 graduate of Electronic Engineering from the University of Nigeria,
Nsukka (UNN) is solving energy needs through solar technology and
distributed generation. He has eight full time staff and 20 contract
staff depending on the project and the demand. “I also collaborate with
people in the industry because I believe that it helps to give
competitive advantage,” he said. His final project in the university was
a solar tracking system to conserve energyNigeria
is blessed with abundant renewable energy resources such as solar,
wind, hydropower, biomass, geothermal, ocean waves and tides. Despite
this, the nation continues to grapple with substantial electricity
deficit. Nowadays, the demand for solar arrangement as an alternate
source of energy is growing very fast. This, alone, provides a vista of
opportunities to entrepreneurial minds. Think Eco-consulting, for
instance. As an expert on green living, one could easily start an
eco-consulting service, relying on friends and colleagues to spread the
news and additionally employ social media tools to strategize the
business. Consultants evaluate homes and offices, and offer solutions to
make them more environmentally friendly. One could advise clients on
switching their home appliances to more energy efficient machines or
implement a recycling program. To further boost their credibility, they
need to become a certified eco-consultant.
@Ekeneodigwe is OAP @frcnsoutheastSDGs Champion & Social media campaigner #Activista with 7 honours & 3 Fellowship awards
