Valentine Nnamani is the founder of OneGrid Energies, a Nigeria-based business that manufactures a low-cost rechargeable lantern using locally-sourced recycled materials. 

AN ENTREPRENEUR AT THE CORE

An entrepreneur at heart, Valentine started his first business, Cool Touch, at 15 years old. Each day after school, he would produce and sell liquid soap, aftershave and perfume. 

“That same year, I registered the business as a legal brand in Nigeria and learned graphic design, which I used for branding,” Valentine shared. “The most important part of my journey was learning practical skills like sales and marketing.” 

Today, Cool Touch has been put on pause while Valentine focuses on his new venture—OneGrid Energies, which was inspired by his time spent growing up with his grandpa. 

Each evening after the sun went down, Valentine and his grandpa turned on a kerosene lamp to see, the only form of lighting they could afford. However, burning kerosene can have long-term impacts on health, so Valentine got to work designing alternative lighting solutions. 

“I built my first lantern using non-rechargeable batteries,” Valentine explained. “[However, it] was not sustainable because batteries were expensive.” 

ENERGY POVERTY

Energy poverty, or a lack of access to energy, is an issue that many communities around the world face—in 2020, 733 million individuals did not have access to electricity. 

For communities experiencing energy poverty, many are forced to rely on inefficient and polluting sources like candles or kerosene lamps to accomplish tasks like homework or cooking, and sometimes during health services such as childbirth. 

The challenge of completing important tasks like homework in poor lighting and the financial burden of consistently replacing lighting solutions make it more difficult for families to escape the cycle of poverty, which is one reason why access to energy is one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. 

HOW ONEGRID IS SOLVING ENERGY POVERTY IN NIGERIA

OneGrid Energies’ rechargeable lantern takes 70 cents to manufacture and uses recyclables from the community such as plastic bottles, bags and used batteries. Since launching, Valentine has sold 70 lanterns and employed three full-time individuals. 

“We use waste plastic bottles as a financial resource for slum and rural dwellers, mostly women and youths, in exchange for our lanterns at our solar charging stations installed by rural youths and managed by women as a source of job creation and empowerment,” explained Valentine. 

Valentine also runs a program for schools called SHELIGHTS, which “aims to change both the behavior of youth and communities around plastic waste in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to contribute to the empowerment of women and girls.” 

Valentine first applied for the Because Accelerator in 2020, then again in 2022, but wasn’t offered a spot in the program. 

“I was at my early stage, inexperienced, [and] my business model was not yet defined,” Valentine shared.

In the months following, Valentine said he “learned how to best tell my story, increased my traction and prepared a good pitch deck,” and came back in 2023 to win the Because International Impact Pitch Competition. During the event, he went up against four other entrepreneurs for $5,000 and a spot in the Because Accelerator.

When asked how it felt to win, he said “I was speechless. I could remember the judges giving me some time to say something, but I didn’t know what to say at that moment. I thought I was dreaming. I didn’t know if I was smiling or crying. It was just unbelievable. Knowing fully well that I would get into the program made me so happy. I asked myself, what if I had given up? I envisioned the kind of impact the [prize funds] would make and the jobs it would create.” 

Valentine joins 24 other innovative entrepreneurs in the 2023 Cohort of the Because Accelerator which launched April 17.

The Because Accelerator is a completely free online training and mentorship program for entrepreneurs who have product-focused ideas and businesses in areas impacted by poverty.