4th Africa Energy Innovation Competition 2019 in Africa, Nigeria

Across Africa, the key energy challenge is how to electrify millions of households, remote communities and small-scale entrepreneurs as quickly as possible. Nigeria has one of the largest populations and economies in Africa, yet according to a recent article in The Guardian, the World Bank estimates that 90-million people (50% of the population), in Nigeria do not have access to an electricity supply. The 4th Nigeria Energy Forum 2019 (NEF2019) is set to upscale the development of sustainable energy services for all through a capacity building, training and development programme for policymakers, business leaders, energy innovators, professional engineers, industry experts and academics in Nigeria and other African countries.
NEF2018 featured high-level participation from the Government of Nigeria, OPEC Fund for International Development and Lumos Global. The 2nd edition of the forum in July 2017 had the representation of the Acting President of Nigeria, Prof. Osinbajo and the Minister of Power, Mr. Fashola, both represented by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Mr. Edozien. Organized by a team of young energy researchers and academics in the UK, in collaboration with the Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (NIEEE). The NIEEE is the largest professional engineering institution in Nigeria with over 14,000 members. The NIEEE-NEF 2019 is proposed to hold in Lagos, Nigeria, with the theme ‘Upscaling Clean Energy for Sustainable Development’.
The Forum aims to:

Address energy access challenges,
Build technical capacity, and
Promote energy innovation.

The 4th Energy Innovation Challenge is set to upscale the development of early-stage energy firms across Africa. Across Africa, the main energy challenge is to rapidly deliver modern energy services to millions of households and businesses using sustainable and affordable energy technologies.

This competition challenges early-stage energy entrepreneurs from Africa to collaborate with local research institutions or industries to develop practical and sustainable energy products/services/prototype models for a social enterprise or energy management system using local resources

Benefits:
Winners of the competition get the opportunity to:

Pitch their proposed solution/service/prototype model at the 2019 Nigeria Energy Forum, in Lagos, Nigeria, using a poster and short 2-minute video.
Benefit from unique networking opportunities with other young leaders as well as some of the most senior decision-makers in government, international development, academia, and the private sector.
Attend business development workshops, receive support from start-up incubators and cash investment prize of up to USD 5000 to demonstrate the proposed solution in the host community determined in collaboration with organizers.

Requirement:

Young professionals between the ages of 18 and 35 years.
Applicants must be from Africa.
Applicants must nominate a relevant local research institution or organization. At least 1 member of the team must be from the local research institution or industry.
Teams may be formed across different schools, institutions, companies, countries etc.
Applications may be submitted by a team of up to three people.

How to Apply:
Your proposed prototype model submission must not exceed 1-side of an A4 page and should include the following:

Project title
Your Solution (250 words)
Partner Institution or Industry
Expected Impact (50 words)
Short abstract (50 words)
Design tools and method (50 words)
Problem Statement (50 words)
Estimated costs and timeline (50 words)

Submissions must be in Microsoft Word or PDF format by email to info@thenef.org. The subject line of the email should follow the format: [Country] Title of the Project. Submissions that exceed the word count may be disqualified. Shortlisted submissions would be invited to participate in the final round by submitting a 1-page poster to summarize their design, with a detailed budget, 2-page Design Brief, and a Short 2-minute video to describe a prototype model of the proposed solution.
Download Presentation Guideline

Evaluation Criteria:
The first round of submissions will be evaluated using the following attributes:

Local Content: utilize local resources, demonstrate use of local expertise, alternative energy services or efficient solutions for powering agriculture, education, healthcare, industries etc.; and be significant enough to impact large numbers of people, households and/or businesses.
Originality and creativity: present solutions that are original, creative in areas that are either underdeveloped or severely underdeveloped in research and literature.
Commercial Viability: proposed prototype model should be realistic, practical rather than just theory, cost efficient and outline commercial arrangements that address obvious roadblocks, using a specific prototype model.
Clarity: ideas should be presented in a clear and concise manner with realistic completion timeline.