Growing up in Nigeria, Olugbenga Olubanjo founded Reeddi to help ensure that the poorest communities get access to clean, reliable and affordable energy – protecting the environment, and galvanising local communities and businesses too.
Almost a billion people worldwide do not have access to electricity, but demand continues to increase, especially in developing countries. Greater demand means more productivity and economic growth. Governments, eager to seize the benefits, burn fossil fuels to generate power. However, doing so comes at the expense of human health and the climate. We need new solutions that fight climate change while powering our economies.
Reeddi, with operations based in Nigeria, has a solution; its energy capsule, an optimized lithium battery, is available at vending machine-like stations in energy-poor communities. They are rented for $0.50 a day using a card, cash, or a mobile phone and returned for a discount. Powered by solar, they have a low environmental impact, and they’re also more affordable, cutting energy costs by 30%.
Reeddi already serves over 600 households and businesses monthly across Nigeria. The increased profile from being named a 2021 Finalist, has seen huge increases in demand for their capsules, a 6X increase in sales, and allowed them to launch a new solar panel rental scheme to keep small businesses powered up for longer.
They are planning to launch a new upgraded, more resilient capsule before the end of 2022. Reeddi have also been featured in the TIME best inventions of 2021 and Olugbenga was named to the 2022 class of Bloomberg New Economy Catalysts.
By 2030, we choose to ensure that, for the first time in human history, the natural world is growing – not shrinking – on our planet.
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By 2030 we choose to ensure that everyone in the world breathes clean, healthy air – at World Health Organization standard or better.
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By 2030, we choose to repair and preserve our oceans for future generations.
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By 2030, we choose to build a world where nothing goes to waste, where the leftovers of one process become the raw materials of the next – just like they do in nature.
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We choose to fix the world’s climate by cutting out carbon: building a carbon neutral economy that lets every culture, community and country thrive.
This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest:
