Female-led Nigerian Startup Allgreen Ivy Wins $15K at Ikeja Event

• The startup took home prizes totaling $15,000 at an award event in Ikeja
• Allgreen Ivy won $10,000 as the top winner and $5,000 as the best female-led startup
• One Grid Energies won $12,500 as first runner-up and best climate startup

During the National Forum and Award Ceremony held at the Providence Hotel in GRA, Ikeja, a startup received $15,000 in prizes.

Allgreen Ivy, a female-led start-up producing sanitary pads from agricultural waste, won $10,000 as the overall winner and $5,000 for best female-led startup.

Other winners of the Forum included One Grid Energies which took home a combined $12,500 for first runner up and best climate mitigation startup, and Rekool Access Technology which took home $5,000 for second runner up.

While speaking at the event, Akinwande Akinsulire, Head of Startup Support at CcHUB Africa, remarked that the program honors startups driving sustainability and innovation within Nigeria's cleantech sector.

He said that over the past three years, the initiative has provided support to 25 entrepreneurs annually, thanks to the collaboration with partners from both the government and private sector to grow cleantech.

Akinwande stated that cleantech is still a developing space in Nigeria, indicating that 25 companies were selected out of around 300 applicants for this year's programme. They completed technical, business, and sustainability training including carbon emissions assessments.

According to Project Manager Amin Lukeman of GCIP Nigeria, in the programme at the Rural Electrification Agency, the project will give some contributions pursuing Nigeria's transition to clean energy through promoting sustainable technologies and carbon emissions reductions.

The National Programme Officer of UNIDO Nigeria Reuben Bamidele stated that they are focused on expanding renewable energy and energy efficiency through business support and developing policies.

In addition, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science, And Technology, N.A. Esuabana, praised the programme as a model of collaboration and inclusive innovation.

Accepting the top award, Lydia Ekpong Thompson, CEO of Allgreen Ivy, said the prize money will go to automating production and increasing capacity from 250 to 3,500 sanitary pads per day.

The biodegradable sanitary pads made from banana fibre and other agricultural by-products produced by the company help in promoting women's health and sustainability of the environment.

The third edition of the GCIP Nigeria Awards was organised in partnership with UNIDO, GEF, REA, and CcHUB, underlining Nigeria’s growing commitment to innovation, sustainability, and women’s empowerment within the cleantech sector.