The Energy Talk - Storytellers of Africa's Energy Transition
The Energy Talk is a podcast that tells the stories of Africa's energy transition, featuring perspectives from financiers, policymakers, and operators working towards a sustainable energy future. Hosted by Olubunmi Olajide and Chigozie Ubah, the show is produced by EnergyHaus Africa and releases new episodes every two weeks.
Episodes
Electrified & Exposed Ep.1: Why Currency Risk Matters for Sub-Saharan Africa's Off-Grid Energy Future
Currency risk (often referred to as FX risk) is one of the most under appreciated barriers to sub-Saharan Africa's energy transition. In many contexts it is not just a financing headache. It shapes which projects get built, which companies survive, and which communities remain without power.The Energy Talk partnered with Dr. Churchill Agutu from the Collegium Helveticum to explore this issue t
Africa Minigrids Program: Global Women in Clean Energy Episode 2
Valentina Guido Bergamo, Senior Associate at RMI, joins as guest host on this episode of The Energy Talk podcast recorded in Kampala, Uganda during the Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF) in 2025.We discuss the role of women in Africa’s clean energy transition through the Africa Minigrids Program (AMP) and the Global Women in Clean Energy Fellowship, including the launch of its first cohort acro
Africa Minigrids Program: Global Women in Clean Energy Episode 1
Valentina Guido Bergamo, Senior Associate at RMI, joins as guest host on this episode of The Energy Talk podcast recorded in Kampala, Uganda during the Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF) in 2025. We discuss the Global Women in Clean Energy Fellowship program that recently launched its first cohort in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Zambia. This episode also includes a feature interview with Shamiso Kac
CAMCO’s $250M REPP 2 Fund: Building the African grid of the future
In this episode of The Energy Talk, we delve into the inner workings of the REPP 2 fund, a groundbreaking initiative managed by Camco, aimed at transforming the renewable energy landscape in Sub-Saharan Africa. We welcome Ben Hugues (Fund manager of REPP 2) and Ieva Indriunaite (former head of REPP 2’s technical assistance facility), to share insights into the fund's blended finance structure,
Accelerating Capital Deployment in Distributed Renewable Energy: Odyssey’s Product Market Fit
In this episode, we sit down with Emily McAteer, CEO and Co-founder of Odyssey Energy Solutions, one of the most influential startups in the climate tech space for emerging markets. Odyssey is transforming how Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) projects are financed, procured, and managed—especially in emerging markets across countries in Africa, and also India, Mexico, and Brazil.What began as a
Direct Air Capture In Africa: Octavia Carbon’s Journey to a $5M Seed Round
Register for the Included VC Africa Reimagined: VC & Beyond SummitJoin Diana Maranga, Head of Commercialization at Octavia Carbon, as she shares her unique journey from growing up inspired by environmental hero Professor Wangari Mathai to leading a pioneering direct air capture and storage company in Kenya. In this episode, Diana discusses Octavia Carbon's early stages, key growth mileston
Blended Finance for Impact: How GreenMax Capital is Energizing Emerging Markets
In this episode, Ifechukwude 'Chude' Uwajeh, Managing Director of Blended Finance at GreenMax Capital Group, shares his professional journey from large-scale thermal power projects to clean energy advisory and fund management.
He discusses the challenges of electrification in Africa, the importance of creative financing models, and the implementation of the Small Outcomes Fund aimed at en
Meet The Team: Bonus Episode
Quick and casual check with the team behind the podcast on our plans for the year.
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The Earthbond Approach: Transforming Energy Access Through Innovation
In this episode of The Energy Talk, we sit down with the CEO of Earthbond, Chidalu Onyenso, to explore the company’s innovative approach to solving Nigeria’s energy crisis through solar energy solutions tailored for SMEs.
We explore Earthbond's mission, financing models, and the challenges of scaling renewable energy solutions in underserved regions. The episode also takes a detailed look at
Asset Financing: How Payhippo is making solar products affordable
Dami Olawoye joins us as we explore his remarkable career as a finance veteran turned clean energy champion and his role in revolutionizing solar energy financing in Nigeria as the CEO of Payhippo. From a big four-chartered accountant to leading a startup, our guest shares how his organization has raised $5 million to tackle Nigeria's electricity challenges with solar solutions.
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The African Mini-Grid Program: Mobilizing Catalytic Finance Episode 2
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Recorded live during the Energy Access Investment Forum in May, this 2 part mini-series covers the African Mini-Grid Program (AMP). The AMP is a USD 50 million country-led technical assistance program designed to stimulate the solar-battery mini-grids market to boost electricity access in 21 countries, i
Investing Equity in African Infrastructure: InfraCo Africa’s $300M Journey
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InfraCo Africa is one of the few financiers that provides equity investments in large-scale infrastructure projects in Africa. Typically investing in projects in the early stages of their development, all the way through construction and operational stages.
So far, Infraco has invested over $300 milli
The African Mini-Grid Program: Mobilizing Catalytic Finance Episode 1
Subscribe to our Clean Energy Africa newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/dc168bd41a97/sign-up-here
Recorded live during the Energy Access Investment Forum in May, this 2 part mini-series covers the African Mini-Grid Program (AMP). The AMP is a USD 50 million country-led technical assistance program designed to stimulate the solar-battery mini-grids market to boost electricity access in 21 countries, i
State of The African Minigrid Business: INENSUS GmbH
Nico joins us this week to share from his two decades of experience deploying Decentralized Renewable Energy projects, consulting governments on off-grid electrification policy, and what the emerging trends mean for financiers looking into Sub-Saharan Africa.
This episode has already been published on "The Mini-Grid Business" podcast hosted by Nico. You can listen to an exclusive part 2 here: http
Creating an African Clean-Tech Unicorn: Arnergy Solar Company
Arnergy is a renewable energy company providing solar solutions to residential and commercial customers. Combined, Arnergy has raised $12M in a Series A and bridge round and is now gearing up for a big Series B fundraiser. In this episode, we speak with the company's CFO, James Fabola Jr., about operating in a difficult market and exciting growth opportunities.
Empowering The Last Mile: SolarAid’s Unique Model to Scaling Energy Access.
In this episode, we explore SolarAid's visionary work under CEO John Keane, aiming to deliver sustainable energy solutions to remote African communities. Focused on last mile areas, SolarAid's unique model tackles energy poverty while empowering communities with clean, affordable energy access. Through innovation and strategic partnerships, SolarAid is reshaping energy accessibility in Africa, pav
The GridCrux Story: How one Energy Entrepreneur is Democratizing Energy Access in Nigeria
In this episode, we speak to Mojola Ola, a Nigerian-based energy entrepreneur about how his company, GridCrux, is channeling its core ethos of value-add to democratize energy access for thousands of Nigerians. We delve into his roots, entrepreneurial journey, innovations, and failures in a bid to uncover what it takes to thrive as an energy entreprenueur in Africa's largest market.
De-risking Procurement and Financing to Accelerate Scale for Renewable Energy Companies in Nigeria
Doing business in Nigeria is often fraught with challenges, especially on an operational scale amidst business models that involve cross-border transactions. In this episode, we speak to Justin Tinsey, the Vice President of Procurement, about Odyssey Energy Solution's innovative framework to de-risking procurement through its partnerships and systems, as well as financing through its DART and bett
Funding Climate Impact with Persistent Capital
Climate venture building is a concept that is not very common within sub-Saharan Africa. In this episode, we interview Tobias and Wairimu from Persistent Energy, a company deploying "persistent" financial and human resource capital to result in climate impact along energy, agriculture, mobility, and the circular economy. We talk about Persistent's venture building model, investment ethos, recent e
Distributed Energy For People & The Planet Ep. 8: Rethinking Policy and Finance for Distributed Renewables
In the eighth and final episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Henok Assefa - Founder and Managing Partner at PRECISE, and Dr. Paul Yillia - COO and Technical Advisor, TENN to find out how policy design and finance go hand-hand in ensuring that farmers in rural communities can afford their energy needs for their agricultural production.
Distributed Energy For People & The Planet Ep. 7: Distributed Cooling to Create and Capture Markets
In the seventh episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Anshul Ojha - Founder and Principal anchor for the Desert Resource Center, and Ralph Roothaert - Principal Investigator – Veggies 4 Planet & People (V4P&P) Project and Country Director – of Kenya Eastern and Southern Africa (World Vegetable Center).
A $10M Partnership to Scale Energy Access: CrossBoundary and Mobile Power's Historic Deal
In this episode, we discuss the intricacies of the landmark $10M partnership between Crossboundary Access (CBA) and Mobile Power–a partnership that promises to unlock energy access for over 300,000 people within Nigeria.
Distributed Energy For People & The Planet Ep. 6: Closing the Cooling Gap with Distributed Renewables
In the sixth episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Nirmita Chandrashekar a licensed architect and Senior Program Manager with SELCO Foundation in India, and Bijal Brahmbatt from the Mahila Housing Trust or MHT, a non-profit that was selected as a Women Changemakers India Fellow by Womanity Foundation. In this episode, we will focus on delivering cost-ef
Distributed Energy For People & The Planet Ep. 5: Delivering health justice through distributed renewables
In the fifth episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we continue our conversation from the last episode of the series joined by Shweta Narayan from the India-based NGO "Health Care Without Harm", and Shri Ram Kumar S, IAS - Project Director of the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project (MEGHSSP).
How Catalytic Financing is Powering Clean Energy: David Arinze
Donor-funded catalytic capital has been an integral part of the growth of the off-grid energy sector in Sub-Saharan Africa by de-risking new technologies and business models. David Arinze joins us in this episode to discuss the ecosystem impact and growth of projects funded by catalytic capital and how it is allowing organizations to scale enough to attract commercial capital.
Distributed Energy For People & The Planet Ep. 4: Distributed renewables transform rural health and healthcare
In the fourth episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Rachita Misra - Associate Director of Knowledge and Advocacy with SELCO Foundation in India, and Heather Adair-Rohani - Acting Head of Air Quality, Energy and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss the energy and health nexus. Focusing first on ways to bridge the gap between grassroot
Distributed Energy For People & The Planet Ep. 3: Making Small-Hold Farmers ‘Risk-Ready’ in The Face of Climate Change
In the third episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Supriya Gowda - Project Manager of Agriculture for the SELCO Foundation, and Makena Ireri - former Director of Clean Energy Access Research at CLASP to discuss distributed energy for agriculture in the Global South, focusing on small-hold farmers in India. This episode highlights the impact of climate c
Distributed Energy For People & The Planet Ep. 2: Energy and Efficiency Support Aspirations of Small Holder Farmers
In the second episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Ganesh Neelam-Director of Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI) and Huda Jaffer-Director of SELCO Foundation to discuss how improving access to clean affordable energy and energy efficient equipment & services is critical for small and marginal farmers with less than two hectares of
Distributed Energy For People & The Planet Ep. 1: Practical Solutions, Political Action
In the first episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Harish Hande- founder of SELCO Foundation, and Gauri Singh- Deputy Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to discuss the important role that policy and innovation plays in ensuring equitable outcomes in the push towards SDG7 (Sustainable Development Goal 7 is one of 17 Sus
Funding Underserved African Energy Markets: Pete Joubert
How does an investment firm contribute to accelerating Sub-Saharan Africa's access to energy? In this episode, we talk to Pete Joubert, President and Chief Investment Officer for CrossBoundary Energy--an investment firm and developer focused on unlocking capital to provide cleaner and cheaper power to enterprises in Africa-- about the challenges, investment decisions, and stakeholder relationships
Free Online Learning For Climate Education: Eric Steinberger
Motivated by the lack of engaging and accessible resources on climate change, Eric Steinberger co-founded ClimateScience: a non-profit E-learning platform dedicated to filling the knowledge gaps in subject matters related to climate change.
Pioneering Green (Fossil-Free) Steel: Niklas Wahlberg
Green steel is metal manufactured using a hybrid process powered by hydrogen, as opposed to fossil fuels. Mainstream adoption of green steel could be as far as 2026 and will significantly decarbonize heavy industries.
Niklas Wahlberg, Vice-President of Societal Changes and Solutions at the Volvo Group, joins us this week to discuss the development and adoption of green steel. Volvo received the f
Policy-Driven Industry Decarbonization: Dr. Ulrike Lehr
Uli Lehr, Head of Socio-Economics at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), joins us this week to discuss the human costs of decarbonizing heavy industries and the role governments and multi-national organizations need to play in the push for a just and equitable transition in the industry sector.
Sustainability in African Industries: Dr. Amy Jadesimi
Building low-carbon infrastructure and enabling industries to support their growth is becoming increasingly challenging globally. Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL), a free trade zone in Nigeria with a world-class integrated logistics base, is at the center of this challenge in West Africa.
Net Zero Needs Nuclear: Saralyn Thomas & Miguel Trenkel-Lopez
Saralyn Thomas & Miguel Trenkel-Lopez, members of the Nuclear Institute's Young Generation Network, join us to discuss the role of nuclear energy in the energy transition and their plans for COP26 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) in Glasgow, Scotland this November.
Turning Waste Heat to Power: Janice Tran
Heavy industries are responsible for about a quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and re-imagining the physical infrastructure of energy is the challenge that Kanin Energy aims to solve through its 'hardware-as-a-service' business model.
How Em-One Empowers Communities: Mir S. Islam
Enabling economic growth and development through access to energy is at the heart of Em-One Energy Solutions' work. Since it was founded, Em-One has electrified rural healthcare centers and communities, government offices, schools, and much more.
Building Okra Solar: Afnan Hannan
Afnan is the CEO of Okra Solar, which aims to unlock the potential of villages and microentrepreneurs with Internet-of-Things controlled smart microgrids. While other companies looked to ride out the pandemic conservatively, Afnan took a 3 week trip to Nigeria to partner with local companies and attract investments to Okra.
Scaling Solar in West Africa: Doseke Akporiaye
Oolu Solar raised an $8.5 million Series B funding round in 2020 led by RP Global and including All On, Doseke Akporiaye is leading their expansion into Nigeria.
How These 2 RE Companies Raised $10.5M : Femi Adeyemo & Chuks Umezulora
Arnergy and Auxano Solar have raised a combined total of $10.5 million in funding to build renewable businesses. In this episode, we speak to the founders of the 2 companies to understand the unique challenges of building and scaling in Africa.
Energy Solutions For Rural Communities: Habiba Ali
For every two hours, staying by a kerosene lantern is the equivalent of smoking two packs of cigarettes.
Building A Clean-Tech Ecosystem: Dr. Wiebe Boer
With about 80 million Nigerians completely off-grid and another 40 million with less than four hours of power a day the estimated cost to fix Nigeria's power problem today is $200 billion.
Investing in Africa's Minigrids: Humphrey Wireko
"Achieving universal access to electricity by 2030 is estimated to require an investment of USD 187 billion (EUR 163bn) in mini-grids globally, and sub-Saharan Africa is the main destination."
Hydrogen Economy: Jared Moore Ph.D.
Hydrogen's role in the energy transition has gained popularity as new use cases (and markets) open up, but concerns around distribution and storage have affected its real-world applications.
Overcoming Career Challenges: Mervin Azeta
Careers in energy along with other industries have many challenges, this week we speak with Mervin Azeta who started her career as a field engineer at Schlumberger. A highly technical field that has very low female participation.
Career Planning: Dr. Amanda Rico
The job market has never been so competitive and the energy sector is no exception, how can you stand out in an ever-growing pool of applicants?
Achieving Universal Energy Access: Damilola Ogunbiyi
Sustainable Development Goal 7 aims to "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all" by 2030 - are we on track?
Walking With Energy: Dr. Aimee Ambrose
Dr. Aimee Ambrose joins us this week to explain how the concept of 'energy invisibility' inspired her research into how our relationship with energy influences policy and energy infrastructure.
Global Youth Energy Outlook: Bonus Episode
The Global Youth Energy Outlook is designed to be the definitive tool for understanding what young people want for the future of energy. The first report of its kind, the Global Youth Energy Outlook is an entirely youth-led research project that aims to connect with 50,000 young people from around the world.
Oil & Gas in Transition: Jim Claunch
Jim joins us this week to discuss the role oil & gas companies will play in the energy transition, and how this will affect the workforce especially young people as large companies race to decarbonize and digitize their global operations.
Email us your questions: energytalkpodcast@gmail.com
Rhodes Scholar: Godwin Nwangele
Joining us this week is Godwin Nwangele who will share his story of being awarded the Rhodes scholarship after a last-minute submission and how he started a renewable company prior to this award while in the final year of his bachelor's program in electrical engineering.
Generation 2050: Sinead Obeng
Generation 2050 is an initiative by the Energy Institute that aims to create space for young professionals in the energy sector to call for governments and energy leaders to take more decisive action on both universal energy access and climate change mitigation.
Clean Cooking: Raffaella Bellanca
Lack of access to clean cooking disproportionately affects women in developing countries, aside from emission - use of biomass fuels in enclosed spaces have been tied to adverse health effects.
Powering The Clean Transition: Jigar Shah
Jigar Shah joins us this week to discuss renewable energy being "the largest wealth creation opportunity of our lifetime", and it's role in delivering sustainable energy generation to billions of people worldwide.
Transitioning Nigeria's Energy Sector: Olatunde Okeowo
Nigeria's oil and gas reserves have contributed to it being Africa's largest economy, but how will the economy fare in the context of a global energy transition and an international push away from fossil fuels.
A Quick Update (and Happy New Year!)
Congratulations on making it past 2020 and thank you for all your support, we are looking forward to sharing more stories and growing this platform with your help.
New podcast episode going live tomorrow (14th January 2021).
The Energy Talk Team.
Sodium-Ion Battery Technology: James Quinn
Lithium-ion batteries are used in tech gadgets and electric vehicles, but the high cost of lithium extraction and ambiguous mining practices for several key components has led the industry to look for alternative technologies for energy storage.
Wildfires & Utilities in California: Shawn Adderly
As of December 6, 2020, over 9,279 fires have burned 4,359,517 acres, more than 4% of California's roughly 100 million acres of land, making 2020 the largest wildfire season recorded in California's modern history.
Energy in the Middle East: Colman Hands - Part 2
The Middle East has a long history with the energy sector, with many countries in the region benefitting from the prosperity in the oil and gas sector for decades - but how will the rapid growth of the region cope with the energy transition?
Energy in the Middle East: Sudharsan Sarathy - Part 1
The Middle East has a long history with the energy sector, with many countries in the region benefitting from the prosperity in the oil and gas sector for decades - but how will the rapid growth of the region cope with the energy transition?
Celebrating 50 Episodes: Bonus Episode
Thank you for supporting us this far, we look forward to 50 more and beyond!
Another Downturn For Oil & Gas: Fraser Cowie
Global oil prices have been pushed under $40 per barrel over the last few months in large parts due to the pandemic, this will have lasting impacts on the industry and would potentially take years to rebound.
Promoting Energy Dialogues: Monika Simoes
Monika is the Founder & Managing Director of Energy Dialogues, a platform that unites the energy industry through dialogues and serves as inspiration for our podcast.
Nuclear Energy Is Clean Energy: Amanda Lang & Matthew Mairinger
Nuclear energy produces clean electricity, but why isn't it considered as a main energy generation source to address climate change?
The Cost of an Oil Spill: Yuvan Beejadhur - Part 2
This is part 2 of a 2 part series.
A Japanese bulk carrier ran aground on coral reefs of Mauritius on 25 July 2020. The ship began to leak fuel oil (nearly 4000 tonnes) in the following weeks.
The Cost of an Oil Spill: Yuvan Beejadhur - Part 1
A Japanese bulk carrier ran aground on coral reefs of Mauritius on 25 July 2020. The ship began to leak fuel oil (nearly 4000 tonnes) in the following weeks.
Energy Literacy in Nepal: Campfire Ep. 5
Pramod, Kushal, and Joshua are building an energy literacy program that integrates with school curriculums in Nepal.
Re-imagining Nuclear Waste: Campfire Ep. 4
5 graduate students from the University of Michigan entered a grand challenge to find a practical use for nuclear waste, and here is the winning idea that won them $17,000.
Degrees Of Change: Campfire Ep. 3
Co-founders, Isha Kulkarni and Tanmay Takle started Degrees of Change to inspire systemic action on climate change and bridge the knowledge gap.
Water For Everyone: Campfire Ep. 2
Paola & Areli are building solar water distillers for rural communities in Bolivia while being in their 4th year of University.
Building An Energy Background: Campfire Ep. 1
Welcome to our first campfire episode, over the next 8 weeks we'll be hearing the stories of different teams of young people building projects in the energy space.
Season Finale: Introducing Campfire
Our final episode for season 2, thank you all for your support so far. We couldn't have made it this far with our audience and amazing guests.
Anna Mikulska: Covid-19 Impacts On Oil & Gas
Last month, the WTI oil price traded negative for the first time in history, thanks to the coronavirus and other contributing factors.
Rebekah Shirley: Why is Energy Access Important?
840 million people don't have access to energy, and by 2030, 90% of the people without energy will be in Sub-Saharan Africa. (Source: IEA)
Anu Adasolum: Women In Energy
Women account for 26% of the total workforce in the energy sector, but their representation at higher levels in the organization is even less: 23% of managers and 17% of board members are female on average.
Robert West: Technological Investments In The Energy Transition
Big banks and institutions are making commitments to divest from fossil fuel projects, but where will new investments go? and is this the right move?
Promise Ahante: Leveraging Opportunities in The Energy Transition
Covid-19 is affecting job markets worldwide and many young people are facing increasing uncertainty in their career prospects.
Bonus Episode: Staying Sane During Lockdown and Episode Recaps
Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing well. Come hang out with us as we chat about the podcast, COVID-19, and things that inspire us.
Sanjana Paul: Hacking The Climate Crisis
Earth Hacks works with college students to host 48-hour environmental hackathons focused on creating innovative, equitable, and just solutions to the climate crisis.
Ayodeji Dada: Energy Efficiency - Beyond Lightbulbs
Ayodeji Dada is the CEO of Stratagem Energy Management Company, Nigeria’s emerging energy management company for manufacturers, entrepreneurs, SMEs, and government agencies that want to reduce cost and maximize profit.
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