In a mini outlet in Lagos, Tunde Adeniyi taps contentedly on his laptop. The 31-year-old says the lobby, has functioned well as a makeshift office since his employer’s move to reduce the soaring cost of diesel by adopting a work-from-home model.
But things didn’t start well.
“I had major problems,” Adeniyi said. “I have deadlines and things I need to submit … and I couldn’t, because I didn’t have power.”
Nigeria’s grid has an installed capacity of roughly 12,522 megawatts, but due to poor infrastructure, it is only able to deliver around 4,000 megawatts most days, according to BusinessDay’s findings.
Adeniyi found his solution in a yellow box bought by his employer from solar company Infibranches. Connected to a panel on her roof, it keeps his phone, laptop and WiFi running through the workday, as well as a music speaker.
With support from All On, an independent impact investing company, Infibranches is one of at least a dozen solar energy companies that have been competing to help fill Nigeria’s power gap, and the current rising diesel cost has made the need for their services more acute.
Findings by BusinessDay showed All On has increased the number of investees from 10 in 2018 to 30 as of October 2021 while investment commitment has also grown from under $4 million in 2018 to over $16 million as of 2021.
To continue this quest, All On appointed Caroline Eboumbou as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing Wiebe Boer, who recently resumes his tenure as Calvin University’s 11th president.
Read also: From humble beginnings to Forbes mention – meet All On Investee championing clean energy
“A determined pan-Africanist, Caroline Eboumbou is passionate about the private sector and economic development, to which she has dedicated her career. She is arriving from The Rockefeller Foundation as an Investment Director and has worked with the Rockefeller Foundation-funded All On Hub,” All On said on Wednesday.
Eboumbou joined The Rockefeller Foundation in 2018 as a director based in the firm’s Africa Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya.
At the foundation, Eboumbou’s role focuses on driving large-scale impact through the Foundation’s Power investments in Africa, as well as on mobilizing significant financing for extending electricity access globally.
With over 600 million Africans not being served by traditional grid infrastructure, Eboumbou oversees an innovative portfolio of grants and investments aimed at realizing the full potential of mini-grids, while advancing more effective integrated electrification planning and investment across key markets.
Responding to the new appointment on the company’s LinkedIn page, Eboumbou said she is “honored to join All On, a company that has demonstrated its commitment and efficiency as a true agent of change by supporting those delivering services in under-served and un-served off-grid energy markets in Nigeria.”
“I look forward to working with the All On team, Board, investors and the wider off-grid energy sector to support and develop a dynamic and robust eco-system in Nigeria and beyond for the years to come,” Eboumbou said.
Osagie Okunbor, All On’s board chairman said the firm is “thrilled to continue working even more closely with Caroline and confident that her wealth of experience and skills will be an asset to All On.”
Caroline will relocate to Lagos and is expected to resume work on September 1, 2022, All On’s LinkedIn post about the appointment revealed.
