Babajide Oluwase is the Founder/Team Lead of RenewDrive, an innovation-driven startup that develops and distributes clean and affordable energy solutions to cut down agricultural waste, improve livelihood, and combat climate change.
With 5+ years’ experience in planning and implementing environmental sustainability projects, Babajide has worked with people from diverse backgrounds who are committed to challenging the status quo. By designing project platforms and resources, he aims to inspire other young changemakers to achieve outcomes that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Babajide recently published a book on climate change titled, “The Young Climate Heroes”. His efforts have improved the wellbeing of hundreds of people across Nigerian communities. He has received numerous awards – including 2017 Engagement Global Social Innovator, 2016 Merti360 Youth Climate Action Challenge Finalist, and 2016 U.S Department of State Green Champion.
Read our interview with Babajide below.
Let’s start with your book “The Young Climate Heroes”. What is the book all about and why did you decide to write it?
Having worked with over a dozen environmentalists to sensitize different stakeholder groups about global warming and climate change, we continued to experience setbacks especially as it concerned stepping down this knowledge in ways that children would effectively understand. I knew I had to do something about getting the next generation involved in this cause. Forward to 2016, I published a book titled “The Young Climate Heroes.” The book uses story and comical illustration to simplify technical terms underlying global warming and climate change, to enable children easily understand and take action.
In the words of 7 year old Gloria who read the book, “I adore Young Climate Heroes because I have learnt about making the world healthy by recycling our garbage to something useful”. This reaffirms my conviction on the need to educate the next generation about climate change and environmental conservation in general.
Since inception of the project, over 6000 secondary school students have been reached in four Nigerian states (Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Osun). In collaboration with some other environmental advocates, my effort led to an increase in the understanding of environmental sustainability among children from 15% to 85% as shown in a survey conducted before and after reading the book.
Tell us a bit about what you do at RenewDrive and some of your achievements to date.
RenewDrive is an innovation-driven startup that develops and distributes clean and affordable energy solutions to cut down agricultural waste, improve livelihood, and combat climate change. We realized that far above advocacy, it becomes necessary to design and implement viable solutions with a goal of leveraging business activities to leapfrog obsolete development trends.
RenewDrive’s model promotes the engagement of women and youth, especially in rural communities. Most of them are farmers that help collect, sort and process agricultural waste into bio-char. We then process it into carbon-neutral briquette. Our effort has directly benefitted livelihood of local farmers by turning waste into wealth which may have otherwise been burnt as well as creating economic opportunity for women and youth in a sustainable manner.
Currently, we are developing the first stand-alone portable storage solution for preserving fruits and vegetables in Africa. Instead of cooling food, it keeps it hydrated. With our solution, millions of smallholder farmers in developing countries will be able to better preserve their crops, keep the quality intact and sell more quantity and at competitive prices.
We are combining technical ingenuity with business model innovation to create tangible solutions that effectively address the social, environmental and economic realities in rural Africa.
What does sustainability mean to you and why did you chose to be in this field and not any other?
Sustainability to me is the ability to appropriate technological advances in a culturally sensitive and conserved manner for everyone rather than just a few.
My journey into the sustainability space started during my secondary school days back in 2008. I was inducted as one of the carefully-chosen inaugural members of the Climate Change Club (CCC) in Lagos, a signature project of former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN. This platform helped me realize the impact of global warming and climate change on humans, the environment and the economy. As a teenager, I was consumed by an urgent fear as I am fascinated by the environment and its serenity. Out of curiosity for a better environment, I started engaging different stakeholder groups on the subject matter. Beyond advocacy, I later realized the necessity to develop tangible solutions to provide a higher quality of life to much of the underserved population.
Many renewable energy entrepreneurs complain about financing their projects. How do you fund your projects?
Project funding is never an easy task but having a viable project, committed team and solid support system makes the process somewhat easier. To fund our projects, we exploit different financing channels like grants and bootstrapping. By demonstrating that my business is viable and can provide value on a mid to long-term basis, the process becomes a bit seamless.
Recurring floods in major Nigerian cities like Lagos, Makurdi and Port Harcourt, the soot in Port Harcourt city, long stretches of traffic jam, heaps of dirt on streets and major highways have become realities of our existence in Nigeria. As a sustainable/smart cities advocate, what are some of the long term solutions to these problems?
Today there are many environmental concerns for communities around the world to address; perhaps none so pressing as the man-made ones.
Addressing the issues stated above require that we gradually adjust to renewable pathway and embrace sustainable lifestyle. It can be achieved by switching to clean technologies that reduce industrial smokestack emissions; improving management of household and agricultural waste, and increasing use of renewable combustion-free energy sources (wind, solar, and hydropower).
We all deserve air that is clean, water that is drinkable, and land that is free from contamination. Achieving this is not rocket science, but simply by commitment, political will, and collective action, it can be accomplished.
Recently, Nigeria became the first African country to issue green bonds.How will this impact Africa’s energy sector?
Despite not being a major producer of greenhouse gases, many African countries are vulnerable to climate change and as projected by the World Bank, this could increase the global poverty headcount by more than 100 million people by 2030. With the recent issuance of green bonds by the Nigerian government, the country has set the ball rolling for scaled-up investment in Africa’s green energy sector. The renewable energy resources are available, the latent demand for energy is massive and set to grow rapidly, and the threat of climate change makes this an imperative not just for Africa itself, but for the world as a whole. Green bonds could potentially play an important role in channeling currently low-yielding funds into Africa’s burgeoning green energy sector and thereby stimulate the continent’s sustainable development.
In what ways will energy access help towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030?
To echo the words of former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, “energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability”. Energy access is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. Be it for climate change, food security or job opportunities, access to energy for all is essential. Towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, energy access underpins progress on a large number of other goals, ranging from health and education to poverty eradication and climate action.
What are some of the greatest sustainability lessons you’ve learnt as your work takes you across the globe?
In my journey so far, I have been privileged to recognize that the idea of permanently lifting billions of people out of poverty is not quixotic, it’s just going to take a lot of effort. Also, I have been reminded over and over again that we haven’t begun to explore the inherent power of conservation. We need to continually optimize our use of resources in ways that are cost-effective and sustainable.
Which SDG is your favourite and why?
While all the SDGs are equally essential, there are several of them that are particularly dear to my heart. My works evolve around Goal 7 and 13, which is “Access to Affordable and Clean Energy” and “Climate Action” respectively.
How can people get across to you for further questions and or comments?
Email: jideoluwase@gmail.com
Tel: +234 813 638 9666
Twitter: @jideoluwase