Damilola Ogunbiyi

Damilola Ogunbiyi is a Nigerian-born sustainable energy advocate. She is the Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy.[1]

Ogunbiyi was the first female Managing Director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency from 2017 to 2019,[2] where she negotiated the US$550 million Nigerian Electrification Project that powered universities and led to the development of solar hybrid projects powering hundreds of communities around Nigeria. She was also the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, and Head of the Advisory Power Team within the Office of the Vice-President.

A commentator on renewable energy access,[3] the Sustainable Development Goals and the inclusion of women and youth in the energy sector, she has written about the importance of energy access for health-care services during the COVID-19 pandemic[4] [5] and how energy access can support economic recovery from the pandemic in countries like Nigeria.[6] Prior to joining SEforALL, Ogunbiyi was the first female Managing Director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency, where she negotiated the US$550 million Nigerian Electrification Project that powered universities and led to the development of solar hybrid projects powering hundreds of communities around Nigeria.

Ogunbiyi is the Co-Chair of the COP26 Energy Transition Council aimed at driving action to accelerate the shift to clean energy ahead of COP26 and to bring together leaders in the power sector across politics, finance and technology to speed up the transition from coal to clean renewable energy in developing countries.

She is a member of the Development Advisory Council of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), member of the clean cooking alliance advisory board and a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Oxford – Future of Cooling Programme. She is also Commissioner for the international think-tank the Energy Transitions Commission, and a Commissioner for the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty, an initiative by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Rockefeller Foundation.

Ogunbiyi maintains a keen interest in mentoring and empowering young people. [7] She created the Lagos State Energy Academy to build the capacity of young people in renewable energy technology, and the Energizing Education Programme (EEP) which launched a Female STEM Student Internship Programme to provide hands-on practical experience in designing and constructing power systems for 700 female undergraduates.

Education
  • 2002 – M.Sc. Construction Management with Public Private Partnership, University of Brighton
  • 2001 – B.Sc. Project Management with Engineering & Construction, University of Brighton

Career
  • 2020 – Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, United Nations
  • 2020 – Co-Chair, UN-Energy
  • 2020 – Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Energy for All
  • 2017-2019 – Managing Director, Rural Electrification Agency, Federal Government of Nigeria
  • 2015-2019 – Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria and Head of Advisory Power Team, Office of the Vice President, Federal Government of Nigeria
  • 2011-2015 – General Manager, Lagos State Electricity Board, Lagos State Government
  • 2010-2011 – Senior Special Assistant on PPP to the Governor of Lagos State, Lagos State Government
  • 2008-2010 – Consultant, Department for International Development, Government of the United Kingdom

References
  1. "Ms. Damilola Ogunbiyi of Nigeria - Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All". United Nations.
  2. G, Dimitris. "UN special representative, Damilola Ogunbiyi, about her lifelong fight for sustainable energy for all". The Beam. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  3. "Damilola Ogunbiyi on how to bridge the energy gap in Africa". CNBC Africa. 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  4. Puliti, Riccardo; Ogunbiyi, Damilola (2020-04-21). "Africa: Energy Access Takes Center Stage in COVID-19 Fight, Powering Africa's Recovery". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  5. Foundation, Thomson Reuters. "Power in a pandemic: Why energy access matters during coronavirus". news.trust.org. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  6. "Nigeria is using the pandemic to build a better energy future". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  7. "DAMILOLA OGUNBIYI: Girls should be equipped to break poverty trap". Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics. 2019-06-29. Retrieved 2020-02-27.


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