Onimisi Atere (Nimsy Solar Pumps)
Onimisi stands by his Nimsy Solar Water Pump
Onimisi Charles Atere is the founder of Nimsy Solar Pumps, a Nigeria-based business that provides smallholder farmers with low-cost, mobile, solar water pumps—improving their livelihoods by enabling farming during droughts and increasing the community’s food production.
food insecurity in nigeria
According to a study by the International Foundation for Sustainable Peace and Development, smallholder farmers account for 80% of farmers in Nigeria and produce 98% of the food consumed, apart from wheat—yet “they are the poorest in Nigeria’s agricultural sector due to a history of underinvestment.”
A low crop production not only impacts the livelihood of smallholder farmers—it also limits food availability for the communities. And, according to UNICEF, 17 million people in Nigeria are food insecure—six million of whom are children under the age of five.
Farmers use the solar pump to water crops
the inspiration behind nimsy solar pumps
Onimisi has been working in Nigerian agriculture for several years and is familiar with the obstacles that smallholder farmers face.
“The inspiration behind Nimsy Solar Pumps is to empower smallholder farmers with sustainable resources that will boost food production and reduce hunger and poverty in Nigeria,” explained Onimisi.
One of the challenges they face, alongside many other farmers in African countries, is affordable irrigation—an increasingly pressing issue as climate change causes unpredictable weather and droughts. In an effort to prevent their crops from dying, they’re forced to invest in petrol pumps for irrigation, which can be costly. In the past year, petrol prices have risen by 42%, according to CGTN Africa.
“I had met a female farmer in one of the cooperative meetings I attended and she was bitterly complaining to me on how she spent up to $45 a month buying fuel to operate her petrol irrigation pump from her scarce resources,” shared Onimisi. “I did research and discovered that just like this female farmer, thousands of others are facing a similar challenge.”
Inspired to help farmers, increase the country’s food production and limit carbon emissions causing harm to the environment, Onimisi and three of his friends came together to launch Nimsy Solar Pumps.
About nimsy’s solar water pump
The solar pump pulls water from a river in Nigeria
The Solar Water Pump is designed to pump up to 10,000 liters of water an hour for two acres of farmland. It also features charging outlets and comes with three light bulbs so that customers can light their homes and charge phones in addition to watering crops.
“The initial product we created used only a solar panel to power the pump that draws in water for irrigation. It was limited in moments of low sunlight or cloudy weather [when] the pumping capacity became very low,” said Onimisi. “We got feedback from farmers and went back to the drawing board to create a design with a battery system as a power backup. This current design can be powered by solar panel, battery or a hybrid—all with a simple switch on the control box.”
After recent testing, the newest edition of Onimisi’s pump is ready for commercial use, and he already has 30 orders ready-to-go. Farmers can take advantage of their rent-to-own model with monthly payments, making it more affordable for those who cannot afford the product up front.
Onimisi joins 23 other innovative entrepreneurs in the 2023 Cohort of the Because Accelerator which launched April 17. In the program, he hopes to scale his business, develop a marketing strategy and learn how to efficiently manage the business.
The Because Accelerator is a 16-week virtual training program designed to help entrepreneurs take their innovative products to the next level. Learn more about the Because Accelerator and how it helps entrepreneurs from around the world scale their businesses and create jobs in areas impacted by poverty.