A consortium led by an alumnus of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, has won £700,000 in funding to replace diesel and petrol generators in Nigeria with affordable, clean energy.

Chief Executive Officer of Anfani and Oxford MBA graduate Ishaq Bolarinwa is collaborating with fellow alumnus Tom Gibson and Gyre Energy co-founders Michael McKenna and Dougald Coulson to deploy storage-integrated solar and wind hybrid systems across Nigeria. The project will combine wind turbines, solar panels, and thermal storage, initially targeting cold storage facilities reliant on diesel generators.

The funding was awarded through the ZE-Gen Technology Accelerator, supported by Innovate UK and sponsored by the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which aims to drive clean energy transitions in developing countries.

Nigeria faces the world’s largest energy access deficit, with 85 million people, 43 per cent of the population, lacking grid electricity. According to the World Bank, unreliable power causes an estimated $26.2 billion in annual economic losses.

Bolarinwa said: “Limited access to energy is holding Nigeria back. What we’re doing can change that, supporting the economy, saving people money, and protecting the planet.”

The Anfani-led group was selected as one of just five consortia advancing to the second ‘Lift Off’ stage of the ZE-Gen programme, which will focus on industrial research, product development, and testing.

The team includes three academics from Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science, Professor Lucia Corsini, DrJesúsLizana, and Ana OuteirinhoMorgado, as well as doctoral student BogosiMsutwana. Other partners are Sirius-X Energy and ThinkClock Battery Labs.

Bolarinwa credited the Oxford MBA with shaping Anfani’s direction. The company’s initial concept, a renewable energy brokerage model, emerged from his Entrepreneurship Project at Saïd Business School.

Gyre Energy co-founder, Tom Gibson, said: “We’re excited to work alongside this ambitious consortium. This is a powerful example of the Oxford ecosystem coming together to drive practical energy solutions in underserved markets.”

Should the Lift Off phase succeed, the consortium will move to the final ‘Flight’ stage, focused on in-country demonstration and deployment, bringing clean, reliable energy to Nigerian communities.