Yakubu,Abiodun,Abah Win TotalEnergies’ Startupper Of The Year Challenge

           Mohammed Shosanya

Temitope Yakubu,Jacob Abiodun and

Emmanuel Abah,have emerged local winners for the fourth Edition of the 2024 TotalEnergies’ Startupper of the Year Challenge.

They emerged victorious 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 the special edition organized on the occasion of the company’s centenary were honored during an official prize-giving ceremony that took place on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, in Lagos, a statement said on Friday.

Temitope Yakubu won in the Innov’Up category for best entrepreneur with Interkool by Farmci.

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.

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

Emmanuel Abah won in the Power’Up category for best sustainable and affordable project with Waste2light  Ltd.

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. Waste2light is championing to power Nigeria with clean electricity.

These young entrepreneurs will receive N8M grant, each in order to help them develop their projects,the multinational oil company said in the statement.

“They will also be given personalized support to develop their projects, along with local visibility, to boost awareness of their plans”,the statement added.

In Nigeria, 5906 applications were submitted, of which 1540 successfully completed the application process.

The company revealed that from the 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.