TotalEnergies unveil winners of 2024 Startupper Challenge

TotalEnergies Nigeria has unveiled the three local winners for its fourth edition of the 2024 TotalEnergies Startupper Challenge of the year.

The company said that after the selection by a local and international jury of the 100 winners of the Startupper of the Year Challenge in the 32 participating countries, the local winners of this special edition organized on the occasion of the Company’s centenary were honoured during an official prize-giving ceremony that took place in the month of October.

The three local winners of the Startupper of the Year Challenge in Nigeria are: Temitope Yakubu in the Innov’Up category for best entrepreneur with INTERKOOL BY FARMCI.

It said FarmCI’s InterKool Storage Pod is a portable, solar-powered solution for preserving and transporting farm produce, extending shelf life and reducing disease risk for small-scale farmers and retailers.

Another winner, Jacob Abiodun in the Cycle’Up category for best circular economy project with Coconoto, was transforming the coconut value chain for a greener, more sustainable future.

The third position went to Emmanuel Abah in the Power’Up category for best sustainable and affordable project with WASTE2LIGHT LTD.

According to TotalEnergies, Waste2light Wind and Hydro Turbine is a pioneering initiative to produce electricity from wind and hydro sources, by converting plastic waste into 3D printed wind and hydro components and it is championing to power Nigeria with clean electricity.

TotalEnergies, however, said that in order to help the winners develop their projects; these young entrepreneurs will receive N8 million grant each.

The company stated that the winners will also be given personalized support to develop their projects, along with local visibility, to boost awareness of their plans.

In Nigeria alone, it said that a total of 5906 applications were submitted, of which 1540 successfully completed the application process.

Available data showed that from 1540, the best 100 projects were selected; 14 finalists pitched their projects to a local panel of experts, out of which the three top winners emerged.

TotalEnergies also operates an extensive distribution network which includes about 540 service stations in the country.