First African Waste-to-Ethanol Company recognized by Mentor Capital Network
Washington DC—27 July 2014—Small Medium Enterprise Fundamentals’ (SMEFUNDS) Green Energy & Biofuels won the 2014 WJF Chuck Dell Award for Sustainable Business. Mentor Capital Network, formally known as the William James Foundation, selected the enterprise based on social impact and potential for growth. The award was a competitive process that considered the business models and results from 558 social enterprises from around the world. Judges involved in the selection included Laura Lovelace Managing Partner of Lovelace Energy Advisors, Dawn Edwards, Senior Managing Director at Mission Markets, Kalsoom Lakhani, Founder & CEO at Invest2Innovate and Ms. Deb Parsons
“This award is a huge boost to thousands of people across Africa and partners around the world,” said Kunle Odebunmi, COO of Green Energy & Biofuels. “We started out as a very small group of people with a big dream. But it took thousands of people joining us to get to the point we are today. We accept this award in appreciation of them. ”
Chuck Dell and Kunle Odebunmi (COO -Green Energy & Biofuels Limited)
For over 2 years, SMEFUND’s Green Energy & Biofuels has converted wood waste from local sawmills into high quality ethanol. The company has a unique approach: While cellulosic ethanol is yet to approach commercial viability in the rest of the world, the company saw an opportunity for this renewable fuel due to the high price of kerosene in Nigeria. Turning the renewable ethanol into a cooking fuel allows them to be commercially successful even on a small scale. To date, the company has sold over 200,000 of their patented stoves and 2 million liters of ethanol cooking gel.
“Chuck Dell founded WJF to act on his passion that business could be a force for good in the world. Mentor Capital Network stays true to that mission to prepare the new generation to take on the challenges of building a more sustainable world. This is truly embodied in the spirit, strategy and results of SMEFUNDS’ Green Energy & Biofuels. We are thrilled to honor both SMEFUNDS and Chuck Dell today,” stated Ian Fisk, executive director of the Mentor Capital Network.
SMEFUNDS’ Green Energy & Biofuels is now working with top investors and financiers to accelerate their waste-to-ethanol cooking fuel expansion. They are currently raising their Series A equity round and would be delighted to speak with those interested in helping build Africa’s first multi-billion dollar renewable fuel company
For over 2 years, SMEFUND’s Green Energy & Biofuels has converted wood waste from local sawmills into high quality ethanol. The company has a unique approach: While cellulosic ethanol is yet to approach commercial viability in the rest of the world, the company saw an opportunity for this renewable fuel due to the high price of kerosene in Nigeria. Turning the renewable ethanol into a cooking fuel allows them to be commercially successful even on a small scale. To date, the company has sold over 200,000 of their patented stoves and 1.6 million liters of ethanol cooking gel.
“Chuck Dell founded WJF to act on his passion that business could be a force for good in the world. Mentor Capital Network stays true to that mission to prepare the new generation to take on the challenges of building a more sustainable world. This is truly embodied in the spirit, strategy and results of SMEFUNDS’ Green Energy & Biofuels. We are thrilled to honor both SMEFUNDS and Chuck Dell today,” stated Ian Fisk, executive director of the Mentor Capital Network.
About SMEFUNDS’ Green Energy & Biofuels
SMEFUNDS’ Green Energy & Biofuels is a social enterprise based in Lagos, Nigeria promoting safer and cleaner biofuel gel with their patented cookstoves as an alternative to dangerous and harmful fuel. They are the first partners of UN Sustainable Energy for All High-Impact Initiative for Sustainable Bioenergy in Africa. Recently, they were named the best clean energy investment opportunity in West Africa and overall winner at the West Africa Forum for Clean Energy Financing Business Plan competition in Accra and gained support from the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves’ Spark Fund.
About Mentor Capital Network
Mentor Capital Network is a nonprofit organization that is strengthening the global social enterprise community, championing triple bottom line values, and leveraging the success of mentors to forge new successes. It is a network of people who build, manage, invest in, research and support for-profit multi-bottom line businesses and invest our skills and expertise to accelerate the next generation of inventors and innovators passionate about their world-changing ideas create, launch and scale successful businesses that make money and make the world better place. Since 2002, it has invested over $3 million of mentor capital to more than 830 for-profit social enterprises creating thousands of jobs and positively impacting the lives of millions of people.