Promoting a climate-smart world by preparing young people for the energy transition through training, community organizing, and technology.

Glory Oguegbu is a climate change activist working to advance a climate-smart Africa by promoting climate literacy and developing renewable energy projects that give Nigerians access to clean electricity. Since 2013, Glow Initiative has connected 4,352 households with clean electricity, educated 18,562 students and 470 farmers on climate action and trained climate fellows working in 160 schools across Nigeria. In 2021, Glow Initiative created the Climate Leadership Fellowship Program to invest in a new generation of climate leaders. At COP 27, Glory launched the School of Climate Action and its flagship project; Climate Data Policy to generate real-time global climate impact data, recommend solutions, and facilitate a need-based climate investment. Glow Initiative’s social enterprise, the Renewable Energy Technology Training Institute, has trained over 3,000 installers and designers and created Africa’s first online solar education platform, which has trained 1,450 individuals on solar design and installation and offset 840,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. Glory is eager to utilize the Scholars program to further develop her understanding of climate-action best practices and empower a new generation of renewable energy entrepreneurs who will create a zero-carbon Africa. 

Glory has received numerous awards for her work including the Nigerian Star Award from the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, the Young Energy Professional of the year, the Climate and Energy Champion Prize from the Nigeria Energy Awards, and a recognition from the U.S. Mission to the African Union as a rising Africa female entrepreneur. For International Women’s Day 2023, The Economist celebrated Glory as a leading woman in global sustainability. She is an Advisory Council member at Project Drawdown, a U.S climate solutions organization. She was a Mandela Washington Fellow at the University of Delaware and an Enel Foundation’s Open Africa Power Fellow in Cape Town, South Africa. Glory holds a bachelor’s degree in geography and planning from Abia State University in Nigeria. 

Biography current as of 2023-2024 program year