The Energy Talk

When I first started The Energy Talk I read that 90% of podcasts don't make it past 3 episodes. 97 episodes later and today we celebrate the 5th anniversary of the podcast! This milestone has put me in a retrospective mood, I first started the podcast after graduating into a downturn in the oil and gas sector. A few unsuccessful job applications later, and attending a recruitment event where I saw CVs stacked in long piles made me think of other ways to network. The idea for the podcast came from my public speaking and spoken word background at university. I took what I was already good at and adapted it to a platform that allowed me to learn about the energy sector outside of oil & gas and network. Then came the next challenge, I was a broke new grad who needed to buy equipment. Enter my first sponsor (and mom) Tolu Olajide, who took the chance on the idea and very light pitch (it's gotten better I promise), and off we went. Now we're preparing for the launch of season 5 where we will be focusing exclusively on energy infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. With the help of my producer Chigozie Ubah who shares my borderline obsession with this niche and new production partners Africa Business Radio, we will be producing 12 episodes over the next 6 months! We are also looking for new partners on the podcast if you would like to get your brand/message in front of over 5,000 listeners monthly who are deeply connected to the #DRE sector in SSA, then we would love to speak to you about what that would look like on the podcast. Be sure to follow me and The Energy Talk for our most ambitious season yet!

🔚 And that’s a wrap! After 10 months, 24 guests, and 14 episodes, our fourth season on the podcast has come to an end. We began with a 8-episode series sponsored by SELCO Foundation and co-produced with Marilyn Smith of The ENERGY ACTION Project and Global SDG7 Hubs, where we explored how distributed energy impacted the health and agri-practices of millions of small-holder farmers in rural India and underserved communities. It was absolutely riveting hearing from the brilliant lineup of: Harish Hande, Gauri Singh, Ganesh Neelam, Huda Jaffer, Supriya Gowda K.R, Makena Ireri, Rachita Misra, Heather Adair-Rohani, Shweta Narayan, Shri Ram Kumar S, Nirmita Chandrashekar, Bijal Brahmbhatt, Anshul Ojha, Ralph Roothaert, Henok Assefa, and Paul T. Yillia (Dr. techn.). 🔍 This season, we also decided to go all-in on focusing squarely on the operators, financiers, and policy makers making a difference in sub-Saharan Africa’s energy transition. As a first step in this direction, we featured conversations from financiers like Persistent, CrossBoundary Group, Odyssey Energy Solutions, and Diamond Development Initiatives mobilizing and injecting finance into ventures and projects. We also heard from operators like Grid Crux and Mobile Power who are innovating in unique ways, and featured SolarAid Aid; evaluating the charity’s unique model to tackling energy poverty. A huge shoutout to: David Arinze, Lynne Wesonga, Luke Burras, Tobias Ruckstuhl, CMA, Wairimu Karanja, Justin Tinsey, Mojola Ola, and John Keane. As conclude this season, we'll leverage lessons learned to elevate our upcoming fifth season, which will launch in early July, so stay tuned ❗ 🎧 And if you haven't checked us out yet, you can here (or anywhere you get your podcasts):https://lnkd.in/dy5q6hsQ

🌟 Podcasters' episode - "The Mini-Grid Business" meets "The Energy Talk" (Part 1&2) 🌟   As a podcaster, you gain a broad view of the industry by meeting people and discussing sector dynamics. That's why Nico Peterschmidt from "The Mini-Grid Business" had a fascinating chat with fellow podcaster Olubunmi Olajide from "The Energy Talk". In Part 1 of this recording, Olu interviews Nico. In Part 2, Nico and Olu discuss mini-grid innovations.   Join them for this insightful conversation about the energy sector, as it is one you won't want to miss. Listen on Spotify 👉 https://lnkd.in/epAXws2S Listen on INENSUS website 👉 https://inensus.com/ #Podcast #EnergyTalk #MiniGridBusiness #EnergyAccess #Innovation #RenewableEnergy #Sustainability #Nigeria #Namibia #Somalia #India #Investment #EnergyForum #Renewables

It was a truly great time at #EAIF2024 recording in the Africa Minigrids Program, we hosted 8 guests across 6 sessions. Episode production is already underway and we can wait for everyone to hear (and see) all the great work being done!

💡 What got us buzzing about the Alliance for Rural Electrification's Energy Access Investment Forum? The #energy. It was profoundly inspiring witnessing the sheer mass of individuals dedicating their time, minds, and effort to advance the larger than life mission of energy access for the most underserved region in the world. 💼 Seeing investors, innovators, policymakers, and researchers convene to discuss every aspect of the energy access and reliability landscape was gratifying, and served as a powerful reminder not only for why our team has dedicated our careers to this mission, but also to the founding principle of this podcast: to use information as a vehicle for action. Engaging with familiar faces, forging new connections, observing deals materialize on the conference floor, and engaging in thought-provoking conversations provided immense satisfaction for us, providing evidence that the industry is not in stasis, and that we are indeed making progress (much of which we will discuss in our new season, so stay tuned!). Exciting times ahead for the continent! ⚡

We'll be attending EAIF! ⚡ 🔋 The Energy Talk Podcast team of Olubunmi Olajide and Chigozie Ubah will be attending the Energy Access Investment Forum by the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE). We're excited to listen and learn about all the investment efforts driving progress to electrify our continent, develop sustainable business models, and decarbonise our legacy systems; and of course, snapping up a few conversations here and there! If you'll be attending, feel free to connect, and we look forward to seeing you.

🕯 What typically happens when you pair relatively prohibitive business models in regions with extreme poverty? 🚨 A growing #access gap. For the last two to three years, SolarAid has been accelerating an interesting business model focused on energy-as-a-service, one that attempts to bridge the access gaps faced by the most #underserved regions within #subSaharanAfrica. But what have the net results been and have any #business model innovation leaps occurred for SolarAid? 🎧 Listen to the full episode where John Keane gives a full exposition: https://lnkd.in/gJ-BqmAq

💡 “Obviously, you don’t sell 1 million lights in Tanzania without other people noticing.” And that’s absolutely true! 🎙 In our latest episode with SolarAid’s CEO, John Keane, we speak about the charity’s history, as well as its interesting model for scaling #energyaccess at a level and pace that inspired growth. But where do you go beyond that? And what moving parts needs to be established to reach commercial scale over a decade later? 🎧 Listen to the full episode and explore this conversation here (or anywhere you get your podcasts): https://lnkd.in/gJ-BqmAq

💡 How can a charity transform #EnergyAccess in Remote African Communities? In our latest episode, we investigate exactly that, diving into SolarAid's visionary work under CEO John Keane, to deliver sustainable energy solutions to remote African communities. Focused on last mile areas, SolarAid's unique model tackles #energypoverty while empowering communities with clean, affordable energy access. Through innovation and strategic partnerships, SolarAid is reshaping energy accessibility in Africa, paving the way for a brighter, more sustainable future continent-wide. 🎧 Listen to the episode here: https://lnkd.in/gJ-BqmAq (or anywhere you get your podcasts)!

Happy Monday! We’re so excited to announce our CEO’s Mojola Ola feature on the latest episode with The Energy Talk podcast. You will get to learn more about Grid Crux, the problems we are trying to solve, our approach to energy management etc. 🎧Click on the link https://lnkd.in/dWq-U3Uy to listen to the podcast. #gridcrux #energy #energyaccess #energymanagement #sustainablesolutions #innovation #energytalk #africa