Nigeria - Business creation project

Describe your project or startup in a few words

Guerate Energy is a social enterprise addressing energy poverty in rural communities by creating access to clean cooking energy (LPG) and ensuring affordability through its Waste-to-Fuel mechanism, which allows recyclables as an alternative payment mode.

01.01 Describe your project in more detail

Guerate Energy is a pioneering social enterprise committed to eradicating energy poverty in Nigeria's rural communities. We focus on providing uninterrupted access to clean cooking gas (LPG) and ensuring its affordability through our Waste-to-Fuel mechanism. This solution allows recyclables to be used as an alternative form of payment for cooking gas, in addition to cash. As an enterprise, we strive for environmental sustainability by reducing reliance on polluting fuels in these communities. Through our retail outlets with integrated waste collection hubs in key locations, we can facilitate convenient access to clean cooking gas and manage the collection of recyclables. Our mission is to revolutionize energy access and affordability for low-income communities across Nigeria and Africa, by recognizing waste as a valuable resource. We are positioned as a leader in the fight against energy poverty, and contributing to a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future for Africa.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

Guerate Energy is working to solve the critical issue of energy poverty, specifically focusing on the scarcity and affordability of clean cooking fuels in rural communities of Nigeria. The World Economic Forum describes energy poverty as a lack of sufficient, affordable, reliable, high-quality, safe, and eco-friendly energy services. The 2023 Tracking SDG7 report reveals that approximately 2.3 billion people, 40% of the global population still lack access to clean energy for cooking, relying on solid biomass, coal, or kerosene for energy needs. Also, over 800 million Africans still lack access to modern, efficient energy sources, with many depending on traditional and inefficient cooking energy technologies. Habitat for Humanity reports that Nigeria alone has over 73 million people suffering from energy poverty. We strive to reduce the barriers to accessing clean cooking energy and empower low-income households to save up to 30% on energy costs through the waste-to-fuel mechanism.

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your project intends to provide (at least 3).

1. Affordable Clean Cooking Energy. Guerate Energy enables rural dwellers to access clean cooking gas affordably (LPG) through our Waste-to-Fuel mechanism. The Waste-to-Fuel mechanism allows households in host communities to pay for LPG with recyclables or cash, reducing energy expenses by up to 30%, and making clean energy more affordable. 2. Environmental Sustainability. As we work to combat Nigeria’s energy poverty, we equally advocate for clean energy consumption, decreasing the reliance on biomass fuel and the community's carbon footprints. Additionally, through our Waste-to-Fuel initiative, we promote proper waste management, & reduce environmental pollution 3. Economic Empowerment and Social Inclusion Our process transforms waste into a valuable commodity for financial exchange, we empower communities. Guerate Accessory Exchange (GAE) program facilitates access to cooking equipment like gas cylinders and burners, making the transition to clean energy smoother and more inclusive.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your project is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

Guerate Energy aims to serve low-income households and communities in Nigeria's rural and suburban regions. These communities are characterized by limited economic resources, high population densities, and scarce access to basic social services and economic opportunities. The prevalent lack of access to modern and efficient energy sources makes majority of the households resort to traditional, and less efficient methods for cooking energy. The primary beneficiaries of our services are individuals and families who do not have access to affordable, reliable, safe, and environmentally friendly cooking energy, and who predominantly use unclean and inefficient sources like firewood, charcoal, and kerosene for cooking. By providing access to affordable and clean cooking gas (LPG) through our innovative Waste-to-Fuel solution, we aim to alleviate energy poverty and counteract the adverse effects associated with the use of unclean energy sources while promoting environmental sustainability.

01.05 When did you start working on your project?

2024-01-15

01.06 How many other partners are associated with your business venture?

4

01.07 Among the other partners, how many are female?

1

01.08 Please describe the profile of each of the other partners (skills, experience, etc.)

1. Team Advisor & Expert: Taiwo is an environmental sustainability expert and MD of WasteXchange Nigeria. His skills include Waste Management, Business Strategy. 2. Software Developer: Oladele is a developer with over 2 years of experience in software development across social media, logistics, and the food industry. His skills include HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React.js, Git, Node, MongoDB, Express.js, AWS, and Azure. 3. Co-founder and Administrative Manager: Oluwagbemisola is a graduate of History and Diplomatic Studies, she brings over 5 years of experience in communication and management to Guerate Energy. She possesses good communication skills and her dedication to improving community access to clean energy is pivotal to the development of our Waste-to-Fuel initiative. 4. Head of Design and Technical Services: Afeez is a graduate of Electrical Electronics Engineering with over 3 years of brand design experience with proficiency in Coreldraw, Photoshop,Pixellab & Adobe Illustrator.

01.09 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link here:

https://guerate-energy.vercel.app/

01.10 Which industry best describes your project?

a) Energy (equipment, services, sustainable energy and fuel)

02.01.01 My project contributes to the No poverty goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification

1

02.02.01 My project contributes to the Zero hunger goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification

1

02.03.01 My project contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification

1

02.04.01 My project contributes to the Quality education goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification

1

02.05.01 My project contributes to the Gender equality goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification

1

02.06.01 My project contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification

1

02.07.01 My project contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification

7, Guerate Energy is committed to fulfilling SDG's call for Affordable and Clean Energy for all by 2030. Our core mission as a social enterprise is to provide continuous and uninterrupted access to clean burning, and eco-friendly energy like LPG for low-income communities across Nigeria, ensuring universal access to clean energy solutions. With our Waste-to-Fuel mechanism, we enable households to exchange recyclables as an alternative mode of payment for LPG, thereby reducing their energy expenses by up to 30%, making clean energy solutions both accessible and yet affordable. By setting up retail centers and waste collection points in host communities, we make sure that clean energy solutions and accessories are available to underserved populations, creating a reliable chain of access and reducing dependence on polluting fuels such as firewood and charcoal.

02.08.01 My project contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification

1

02.09.01 My project contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification

1

02.10.01 My project contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

5

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification

Guerate Energy is committed to the achievement of SDG Goal 10 by tackling energy poverty and inequalities in communities. Our initiative creates access to clean cooking energy, decreasing the vast disparity in energy access between urban and rural areas. These disparities exist because of the low level of economic opportunities available in rural communities, With the Waste-to-Fuel system, we are democratizing clean energy solutions in these communities, offering households the chance to exchange recyclable waste for points, redeemable for LPG. By doing this, we promote equal rights to clean energy solutions for all rural communities. We believe that "Access to energy should not be a luxury but a fundamental human right," advocating for energy availability, accessibility, and affordability. Our retail outlets and waste collection centers contribute to our efforts, by creating sustainable local jobs that further improve economic opportunities in the host community.

02.11.01 My project contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification

We remain strong in our commitment to achieving the SDG goal of making Cities and Communities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, through several innovative actions: Firstly, providing access to clean cooking gas (LPG) and ensuring affordability for rural households. By doing this, we hope to significantly reduce reliance on biomass fuels, which emit majorly hazardous pollutants into the air. This transition is aimed at controlling and reducing black carbon emissions supporting the efforts of other stakeholders in creating a healthier environment and reducing global warming. Secondly, our Waste-to-Fuel program promotes waste management by accepting recyclable materials in exchange or as payment for LPG. This initiative is set to substantially reduce plastic waste and environmental pollution, helping in the creation of cleaner and more sustainable communities across Nigeria. Our efforts are directed towards making our host communities eco-friendly, safer, and sustainable.

02.12.01 My project contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification

With the growing population in rural communities and the depletion rate of forest resources, comes the need for a social intervention like Guerate Energy. HOW DO WE HELP: Firstly, our Waste-to-Fuel mechanism allows households to contribute to the recycling process by accepting recyclable waste as a mode of payment for clean energy. This solution helps us to minimize waste pollution and its environmental impact. Secondly, creating access to clean energy for cooking helps to reduce the dependence on biomass fuels in host communities and to prevent other associated problems like deforestation. Thirdly, combining the waste collection hub and our energy retail operations, we continue to advocate for efficient and clean energy consumption and responsible waste management. Our commitment to increasing access to eco-friendly resources, such as LPG, aims to reduce the community's day-to-day carbon footprint and encourage the adoption of cooking energy with low environmental impact.

02.13.01 My project contributes to the Climate action goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification

Guerate Energy's mission to provide increased access to efficient cooking gas (LPG) directly addresses climate change, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the host community. Through our innovative enterprise, we envision a reduction in (CO2) emissions by adopting LPG fuel, which has a significant 20-30% less emission compared to traditional and fossil fuels. LPG also emits a very low level of black carbon, which makes it an ideal fuel that helps us contribute to a climate goal of net zero. Our Waste-to-Fuel system helps us to promote environmental sustainability, encouraging recycling and reducing plastic pollution in the environment. This program accepts recyclable waste as an alternative mode of payment for LPG, by doing this, we facilitate access to clean energy and also promote recycling practices. Lastly, through advocacy and community engagement, we increase the awareness of the host community on climate change thereby creating a more sustainable and resilient community.

02.14.01 My project contributes to the Life below water goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification

1

02.15.01 My project contributes to the Life on land goal

3

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification

3

02.16.01 My project contributes to the Peace justice and strong institutions goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.16.02 Peace justice and strong institutions - Justification

1

02.17.01 My project contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification

1

05.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.02 The product/service we envision creating represents an entirely new type of product/service.

4

05.03 The product/service we envision creating could be described as a new technology.

1 - Strongly Disagree

05.04 The product/service we envision creating is an improvement on an existing product or service.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.05 The product/service we envision creating could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.06 The product/service we envision creating responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.07 The product/service we envision creating is a new version of an old product/service.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.08 Justification

Guerate Energy is revolutionizing the clean energy sector in Nigeria, championing energy equity and driving socio-environmental change. Our innovative approach targets the 70+ million Nigerians in low-income communities who struggle to access or afford clean cooking solutions. Our groundbreaking waste-to-fuel mechanism, integrated with the Guerate Accessory Exchange (GAE), allows households to trade recyclable waste for LPG, cylinders, or accessories. This unique model facilitates an easy transition to LPG, slashing energy costs by up to 30% and outperforming LPG last-mile retailers. As a social enterprise, We do not just provide energy access, but tackle the dual challenges of energy poverty and waste disposal. By making clean energy accessible and affordable, we're transforming it from a luxury into a basic right for every class of the economy. Guerate Energy is paving the way for a cleaner, more equitable energy access future in Nigeria.

05.09 Who are your main potential competitors and what makes you stand out from them?

Guerate Energy revolutionizes clean cooking in Nigeria through our innovative waste-to-fuel model. We stand out with our financial model which receives recyclable waste as an alternative payment mode for cooking gas, making clean energy affordable and accessible to low-income households. Our approach reduces energy costs by up to 30%, lowers adoption barriers in communities, and promotes environmental stewardship. Unlike competitors like Ubabio, 0 Emission, KatexPower, and TerraGen ESL Energy, we integrate waste management with energy provision. Our localized focus addresses specific community needs, setting us apart from other companies like Shell, TotalEnergies, and Oando PLC. As a social enterprise, we prioritize creating social and environmental value alongside profit. Adopting a mission-driven approach, combined with our inclusive payment model, differentiates us in Nigeria's clean energy market.

10.06 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

Yes. I support female entrepreneurs and small business owners in my community through self-development sessions where I give talks on entrepreneurship, through special programs that I organize under the umbrella of a religious NGO, and by suggesting relevant books to include in their library and monitor reading progress through an accountability partner model., where individuals have a partner to report to every weekend in the community meetup.