A team of Oxford Saïd Business School alumni has secured £700,000 in UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding to bring affordable, clean energy to off-grid communities in Nigeria—potentially replacing thousands of diesel and petrol generators with a sustainable alternative.
Led by Ishaq Bolarinwa, CEO of Anfani and a 2022 Oxford MBA graduate, the project will deploy storage-integrated wind and solar hybrid systems using cold storage infrastructure as anchor loads. Bolarinwa is joined by fellow Oxford Saïd alumnus Tom Gibson and his Gyre Energy co-founders, Michael McKenna and Dougald Coulson. Together with academic partners from the University of Oxford’s Department for Engineering Science, the group is one of just five consortia progressing to the ‘Lift Off’ phase of the ZE-Gen Technology Accelerator, sponsored by Innovate UK and DSIT.
Nigeria currently has the world’s largest energy access deficit, with 85 million people—43% of the population—lacking grid electricity. The result is widespread reliance on costly, polluting backup generators. According to the World Bank, unreliable power costs the country an estimated $26.2 billion annually.
“This project hits that sweet spot of being good for the economy, reducing energy costs for communities, and helping the planet,” said Bolarinwa. “Limited access to power is holding Nigeria back. What we’re building has the potential to unlock real change.”
The Oxford-led team will now focus on industrial research and system testing, paving the way for deployment across rural Nigeria. The clean energy microgrids will use wind turbines, solar panels, and thermal storage technology, supporting off-grid cold chain systems essential for food and medical supplies.
The project emerged from the Entrepreneurship Project module during Bolarinwa’s MBA at Oxford Saïd, where the Anfani concept began as a renewable energy brokerage. He credits the Oxford network with playing a vital role in bringing the project to life: “The education was world-class, but it was the connections—from classmates to academics—that transformed the idea into a mission-led business.”
Academic support comes from Professor Lucia Corsini, Dr Jesús Lizana, Ana Outeirinho Morgado, and doctoral student Bogosi Msutwana from Oxford’s Engineering Science Department. Other consortium members include Sirius-X Energy and ThinkClock Battery Labs.
Looking ahead, the most promising projects from the ‘Lift Off’ phase will progress to the ‘Flight’ phase, where innovations will be demonstrated and validated in-country. If successful, the system could offer a blueprint for energy access solutions in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
Tom Gibson, co-founder of Gyre Energy, said: “This is a perfect example of Oxford’s innovation ecosystem in action. We’re thrilled to join forces with Anfani to build decentralised renewable energy systems that deliver practical, scalable impact where it’s needed most.”
With backing from UKRI and the ZE-Gen programme, and with Oxford alumni and academics at the helm, the project demonstrates how university-born innovation can drive inclusive growth, decarbonisation and energy justice—one microgrid at a time.
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Oxford Said alumni win £700k UKRI backing to power Nigeria with clean, off-grid energy