Three Nigerians among winners in 2024 TotalEnergies’ Startupper Challenge
Sopuruchi Onwuka
Three Nigerians are among the 100 winners in the 2024 Startupper of the Year Challenge sponsored by TotalEnergies for young innovative entrepreneurs in Africa.
Messrs Temitope Yakubu, Jacob Abiodun and Emmanuel Abah emerged with other winners selected across Africa after the selection by a local and international jury.
A total of the 100 winners of the Startupper of the Year Challenge emerged from 32 participating countries, and the 2024 contest organized on the occasion of the company’s centenary.
Country Communications Manager for TotalEnergies, Dr Charles Ebereonwu, stated that the Nigerian winners were honored during an official prize-giving ceremony in Lagos.
Dr Ebereonwu stated that TotalEnergies’ fourth edition of the Startupper of the Year Challenge captured 32 participating countries, received 40 000 registrations from the platform and processed 14 000 complete applications.
According to him, Temitope YAKUBU emerged winner in the Innov’Up category for best entrepreneur with his INTERKOOL BY FARMCI. The FarmCI’s InterKool Storage Pod is a portable, solar-powered solution for preserving and transporting farm produce, extending shelf life and reducing disease risk for small-scale farmers and retailers.
Jacob ABIODUN emerged winner in the Cycle’Up category for best circular economy project with COCONOTO; transforming the coconut value chain for a greener, more sustainable future.
On his own, Emmanuel Abah won in the Power’Up category for best sustainable and affordable project with his Waste2light Wind and Hydro Turbine; a pioneering initiative to produce electricity from wind and hydro sources by converting plastic waste into 3D printed wind and hydro components. Waste2light currently leads innovation to power Nigeria with clean electricity.
The winning young entrepreneurs would each receive N8 million grant to develop their projects. They will also be given personalized support to develop their projects along with local visibility to boost awareness of their plans.
In Nigeria, 1540 out of 5906 submitted applications successfully completed the process. From the 1540, the best 100 projects were selected; 14 finalists pitched their projects to a local panel of experts, out of which the three top winners emerged.
