Nnaemeka Chidiebere Ikegwuonu[1] (born 1981 or 1982) is a Nigerian entrepreneur and radio broadcaster. He founded the Smallholders Foundation, which informs on sustainable farming through a radio station, and is CEO of ColdHubs, which rents solar-powered cold storage to food producers.[2]
Early life and education edit
Ikegwuonu is from a farming family in Imo State, Nigeria.[3][4][5] He earned a bachelor's degree in history and international studies from Imo State University and, in 2009, a master's degree in cooperation and development from the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Pavia, in Italy.[5][6] He also holds certificates in subjects including water resources management, poverty and human rights, and environmental education from various European universities.[6]
Career edit
After finishing school, Ikegwuonu worked for an NGO dealing with HIV among farmers.[7] In 2003, when he was 21, he founded the Smallholders Foundation, to provide information to farmers on sustainable practices;[5][7][8][9] he later added an interactive radio show,[10] with farmers using solar-powered handsets with a Wi-Fi connection to communicate with the broadcasters.[11] By 2010 it had approximately 250,000 listeners a day.[7][12]
In 2012, Ikegwuonu travelled to Dresden, where he met with scientists to discuss a cold storage system they had designed.[4] After initial implementation in 2014 of food coolers based on their design at markets,[4] in 2015 he launched ColdHubs, a company that rents solar-powered chilled storage space to farmers and fishers, reducing food waste and increasing their profits.[3][8][13][14]
He has also designed a trolley that prolongs the shelf life of cassava.[15] In 2018 he became a Biodiversity fellow of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science at the University of Oxford, England.[6]
Awards edit
Ikegwuonu became an Ashoka fellow in 2008.[11][16] He also received the Rolex Award in 2010,[3][5][7][11][15] the WISE Award in 2010,[12] and the Yara Prize for Green Revolution in Africa.[15]
References edit
- ^ "The 'Global Diplomacy Lab' tackles migration". Deutsche Welle. 2015-11-07. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
- ^ "Energy Storage Solution Wholesale, Solar & Energy storage Price". www.everexceed.com. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
- ^ a b c Cairns, Rebecca (2021-07-23). "ColdHubs: How solar-powered cold storage is keeping food fresh in Nigeria". CNN (with video, 4 mins 10 secs). Retrieved 2021-12-27.
- ^ a b c Monks, Kieron (2015-12-22). "A radio show host may have fixed Nigeria's worst problem". CNN. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
- ^ a b c d "A rural radio service for small scale farmers". Appropriate Technology. 37: 68. Dec 2010 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b c "Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu". Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- ^ a b c d Tran, Mark (2011-12-20). "Airwave agriculturist: the smallholder farmer who became a broadcast pioneer". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ^ a b Hodal, Kate (2017-12-28). "How the sun's rays can keep food chilled: fighting waste in Africa". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
- ^ "Rural radio helps Nigerian farmers". Deutsche Welle (video, 3 mins 2 secs). 2016-08-20.
- ^ El Ebrashi, Raghda; Menatallah, Darrag (January 2017). "Social entrepreneurs' strategies for addressing institutional voids in developing markets". European Journal of International Management. 11 (3): 335 – via ResearchGate.
- ^ a b c Johnson, Mahmud (2011-09-07). "Africa: Surfing the Radio Waves for Sustainable Agriculture". allAfrica. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ^ a b "Radio changes rural lives in Nigeria". Qatar Tribune. 2010-12-10 – via Free Online Library.
- ^ Pollard, Lawrence (2018-01-02). "Harnessing the sun to power cold storage". Newsday (video, 1 min). BBC.
- ^ Crabbe, Nathaniel (2020-08-19). "Talented African man invents giant solar-powered refrigerators to help farmers". Yen.com.gh. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
- ^ a b c "Rolex Awards: Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu: Farming by radio". Rolex. 2010. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
- ^ "Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu". Ashoka. Retrieved 2021-12-28.