Nigerian Businesses, RMI, and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet Collaborate to Empower Women and Youth Through Renewable Technology
The Energising Women & Youth in Agri-Food Systems Programme (EWAS), a collaboration between local businesses and RMI, backed by the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, advances in Nigeria.
Abuja, Nigeria — January 26, 2026 — The Energising Women & Youth in Agri-Food Systems Programme (EWAS), a collaboration between RMI and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, is a strategic initiative to empower Nigerian businesses with affordable finance, training, and commercial opportunities – enabling young women to access the benefits of solar-powered equipment and services.
Nigeria’s vast rural agricultural sector presents a powerful opportunity to unlock productivity through solar-powered productive use of energy (PUE) technologies. By expanding access to solutions such as solar irrigation pumps, cold storage, milling, drying, and food processing systems, EWAS will catalyze a transformation in a market where mechanization remains low and demand for reliable power is high.
With women and youth under 35 making up more than 60% of the agricultural workforce, and many operating in communities where over 40% of households remain unelectrified, there is a significant opportunity to drive inclusive growth. Solar-powered PUE offers a pathway to boost yields, reduce post-harvest losses, improve incomes, and empower the very groups who sustain the sector—all while addressing the persistent energy gap.
“With constraints such as high upfront cost, limited mobility, and digital exclusion, many remain unable to invest in productive-use assets that could enhance their livelihoods, deepen participation in agrifood markets, and strengthen household resilience,” noted Suleiman Babamanu, Director of RMI’s Africa Energy Program. “But there are proven solutions that can unlock economic development and independence for those who carry this sector on their backs.”
EWAS builds on the success of the Energizing Agriculture Programme (EAP), which demonstrated the potential of clean energy technologies to increase productivity and incomes for smallholder farmers. Under EWAS, RMI and its partners will support up to 10 projects led by Nigerian enterprises deploying PUE solutions in rural and peri-urban communities. The first wave of delivery partners includes commercial leaders in solar heating and cooling for agri-business: Koolboks, Coldbox, and SunFi.
“The goal of EWAS is to create outsized opportunities for economic growth and development in local communities, where young and female entrepreneurs are poised for leadership,” said Muhammad Wakil, Country Delivery Lead, Nigeria, Global Energy Alliance. “Solutions that empower young women and transform agricultural practices will not only benefit individuals but create market demand, job opportunities, and technological innovation that will benefit entire communities.”
Koolboks offers efficient freezers to business owners on a pay-as-you-go basis. Their products include standalone solar setups and AC-powered configurations similar to those tested in minigrid communities under the EAP. A proprietary “ice battery” can keep contents cold for up to four days without sunlight or grid power, providing much-needed reliability. The standalone solar freezer also provides lighting and phone charging. Koolboks, under the EWAS initiative, will deploy a total of 300 productive-use solar-powered refrigeration units (198L, 200L, and 750L models) integrated with lithium-ion batteries to enable women and under-35s across seven states to preserve perishable goods, reduce food losses, and stabilize income.
“Empowering women, and by extension, promoting food security, stands at the center of our mission at Koolboks,” said Lolade Alonge, Global Business Communications and Projects Manager for Koolboks. “We are proud to be part of this initiative, driving energy access, economic opportunities, and a more sustainable future for women and youth across Nigeria.”
Nigerian startup Manamuz reduces food losses and connects value chain actors to high-value markets using solar-powered cold rooms called Coldbox Store. In an EAP pilot, the company tested a business model that offtakes local fish, preserves them in a minigrid-powered cold room, and delivers the fish to higher-value markets. About 60% of this project’s participants were local women who had previously faced fish spoilage. Through a follow-on project, the team constructed their first Refrigerated Aggregation Center (RAC), which is a larger cold storage facility for fresh fruits and vegetables featuring its own 35-kW solar plant, water-efficient greenhouses, irrigation, and farmer engagement programs.
Manamuz, through the EWAS project, will deploy two solar-powered cold rooms and 15 solar-irrigated greenhouses serving at least 500 young farmers in Enugu State, of whom 70% will be women, while integrating water-efficient greenhouses and solar irrigation to stabilize production, reduce losses, and make cold chains scalable. The initiative aims to raise productivity, strengthen food security, and expand dignified livelihoods across Nigeria’s agrifood value chains.
“EWAS is enabling Manamuz to scale a tested model that combines solar-irrigated greenhouses, cold storage, and market access into a unified platform so farmers can produce year-round, cut post-harvest losses, sell straight from on-farm cold storage to market, and earn more by keeping more value,” said Uzochukwu Mbamalu, CEO of Manamuz.
SunFi is an energy fintech platform that democratizes access to solar energy across Nigeria by offering flexible financing models tailored to individual and business needs. Through lease-to-own and subscription payment options, customers can adopt solar technology without substantial upfront costs. SunFi manages the technical and credit risks associated with solar installations, enabling solar vendors to scale operations efficiently.
As part of the EWAS initiative, SunFi is deploying integrated Solar Energy Storage Solutions to women agriculture entrepreneurs in Lagos markets. The 90 packages—comprising solar panels, inverters, battery storage, and energy-efficient freezers—enable entrepreneurs to store larger quantities of perishables on-site, extend operational hours to 3–13 hours daily, and accelerate revenue cycles while improving product quality and market competitiveness.
“We are excited to partner with RMI because it enables us to act on what the evidence already shows: energy poverty directly limits income, productivity, and food security for women in agri-food markets,” said Rotimi Thomas, CEO & Co-Founder of SunFi. “By unlocking reliable power for productive uses, such as processing, cooling, and storage, SunFi can demonstrate how solar energy translates into higher productivity, measurable business growth, and lasting economic impact.”
With the first wave of delivery partners advancing now and another wave planned for 2026, EWAS aims to transform livelihoods across Nigeria’s agriculture sector by creating dignified jobs, improving livelihoods, and reducing emissions. The project forms part of the broader Energizing Women and Youth in Agri-Food Systems (EWAS) three-year program led by the Global Energy Alliance in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, aimed at enabling 17,000 jobs, especially for young women in Ethiopia and Nigeria.
Media Inquiries, please contact:
Denali Hussin, Strategic Communications Manager, RMI
dhussin@rmi.org
About RMI
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to secure a prosperous, resilient, clean energy future for all. In collaboration with businesses, policymakers, funders, communities, and other partners, RMI drives investment to scale clean energy solutions, reduce energy waste, and boost access to affordable clean energy in ways that enhance security, strengthen the economy, and improve people’s livelihoods. RMI is active in over 50 countries.
About the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet
The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet works for a world where everyone has access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity and the means to use it to improve their lives. Our Alliance builds transformative public, private, philanthropic partnerships to end energy poverty and accelerate green economic opportunity. Founded in 2021 by The Rockefeller Foundation, IKEA Foundation, and Bezos Earth Fund, we unlock finance, strengthen institutions and transform markets, delivering progress anchored in deep community engagement. By uniting actors across the value chain, from households to heads of state, we go beyond individual projects to drive lasting systems change. With work in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, our Alliance aims to reach 1 billion people with clean electricity, prevent 4 billion tons of carbon emissions and create or improve 150 million jobs.
For more information, please visit www.energyalliance.org and follow us on X at @EnergyAlliance.