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Africa energy innovation challenge shortlists eleven finalists with six on battery second life

20th August, 2026

ACEP and Africa Change Lab have picked innovators from Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Ghana across two tracks. Their proposals cover recovery of retired lithium cells, swapping hubs inside urban markets, cold storage built on reused modules, and offline carbon finance for smallholders. They pitch in Accra this month.

Christopher Amewuho will present AfroCycle, a closed-loop battery recycling and critical mineral recovery proposal, in his own city. He is one of eleven finalists selected by the Africa Centre for Energy Policy and Africa Change Lab for the Future of Energy Conference Innovation Challenge, announced on 16 August after a competitive evaluation of applications from across the continent.

The shortlist runs across two tracks. The AfroHackathon Track carries six innovators, all of them working on what happens to a battery after its first use or outside single ownership. Alongside Amewuho from Ghana, AbdulBasit Bashir of Nigeria brings AfreVolt, a circular battery solution, and Brian Mwai of Kenya brings REVLOG, built around safe and traceable recovery and second life for retired lithium batteries. Priscila Adhiambo, also Kenyan, has Pamoja Cell, second-life battery modules powering off-grid cold storage.

Two of the six take the service route instead of the recycling one. Ebinabo Joshua War of Nigeria proposes Lenol, mobility through solar-powered battery swapping hubs embedded inside dense urban markets. Modester Nanyunga of Tanzania has SolarPay Swap Hubs, a community-owned swapping system built for fishing livelihoods on the Tanzanian coast.

The Pan-African Low Carbon Track carries five. Blessing Unoka of Nigeria brings solar-powered fortified food processing with an integrated biodigester waste-to-energy system, through Sambal Enterprise. Godfrey Noel of Kenya has AgriKonnekt, offline climate finance infrastructure for smallholder carbon markets in East Africa. Rhyl Cruz Kiio, also Kenyan, proposes containerised pay-as-you-go adsorbed biogas with digital measurement, reporting and verification for off-grid communities. Tatu Kassim of Tanzania is turning banana waste into biodegradable packaging, and Tracy Achieng of Kenya brings KilimoChills.

The concentration is worth reading against where policy attention currently sits. Governments across the continent have spent three years building the front of the battery chain, with the Democratic Republic of Congo approving the 900-hectare Musompo precursor zone in February and Zimbabwe requiring lithium sulphate plants as a condition of export. All six AfroHackathon finalists are working at the other end of the same chain, on cells that have already done a job.

The Challenge is supported by Africa Change Lab, the Africa Centre for Energy Policy and the United Nations Development Programme through its Timbuktoo initiative, which backs startups and innovation ecosystems across Africa.

The eleven present at the Final Pitch Event at the Future of Energy Conference in Accra on 25 and 26 August, in front of policymakers, investors, researchers, development partners and industry leaders.

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