Firm Reaffirms Commitment to Bridge Nigeria’s Energy Gap

Ekugbe Gilbert

ENGIE Energy Access has restated its commitment to address Nigeria and other African countries’ energy access challenge.

Expressing worries over the inadequate power supply to underserved communities due to low-capacity national grid, ENGIE said plans are already ongoing to reach out to these communities with little or no power supply.

The Managing Director, ENGIE Energy Access Nigeria, Mangiza Phiri, at an Innovation Challenge’, a technology-leveraged hackathon aimed to challenge students on innovative solutions tagged, “The Industry Discourse (TID),” said the sponsored challenge holds great significance as the firm seeks to address the pressing energy access challenges in Africa.

He said sponsoring the event is part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) investment and further demonstrated its commitment by providing a financial contribution of US$3,000 (N2.1m) for the Innovation Challenge.

Phiri commended the winners for their innovative ideas and stated: “This By supporting the Innovation Challenge, ENGIE Energy Access not only positioned itself as a champion of youth talent but also encouraged innovative solutions to African energy problems.”

The Head of Mini Grid Energy Access Nigeria, Onyiye Anene-Nzelu, who served as one of the speakers on the Energy Transition panel and presenter of the award, highlighted the importance of the winners’ innovative solutions for Nigeria’s energy sector, particularly in transitioning to cost-efficient off-grid power solutions and other clean energy sources. 

The Operational Marketing Manager ENGIE Energy Access, Lawrence Olugbenga and other members of the marketing team were also present at the event.

The hackathon commenced on the 24th of April, 2023 with participants submitting their innovative solutions for their chosen categories. The top three winners were hosted at ENGIE Energy Access’ corporate headquarters in Lagos for the formal presentation of their prizes.

The first team, PERIHELION won a sum of $1,500; the second team, TEMT Energy won $1,000, and the third-place team AGROLL won $500.