Biography
Ifeanyi B. Orajaka is a 32-year old Engineer, Obama Foundation Fellow, Global Shaper (World Economic Forum), socio-entrepreneur, Green Ambassador, Mentor, and Founder/CEO of GVE Projects Limited. Ifeanyi has over ten years’ experience in renewable energy systems design, installation/ maintenance, business development, project management, GIS-based rural electrification planning, policies/ strategy formulation, conflict resolution.
As the founder/ Managing Director of GVE Projects ltd, he is directly involved in the development and implementation of strategies geared towards positioning the young company as a leader in the African renewable energy industry. In a bid to contribute towards solving Africa’s electricity poverty crises, Ifeanyi has led GVE from an undergraduate student project concept to become a global brand, a market leader in the Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) sector in Sub-Saharan Africa and one of the fastest-growing private companies in Africa as recently recognized by the London Stock Exchange within 6-year post-incorporation.
Ifeanyi is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School’s (HBS) Driving Profitable Growth executive education program and is currently participating in the Senior Executives Program- Africa executive education program of HBS. He holds a B.Eng in Electrical Electronics Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Owerri, an M.Eng in Power Systems Engineering from the University of Port-Harcourt both in Nigeria. He has also participated in training on Corporate Finance, New Venture Finance, Operations Management, Public-Private Partnerships, and Marketing. He is a certified Project Manager and has had professional internship experiences in leading multinational companies (ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell & NIIT).
Ifeanyi’s mission to end extreme energy poverty in Africa has attracted him several international recognitions such as the 2016 Future Africa Award in Business, the 2016 Africa Energy Leader of the Year, the 2018 participant of the Dutch Visitor Program, an IEEE Smart Village Ambassador. Ifeanyi was recognized as one of Nigeria’s top 100 most innovative CEOs in 2019 by the Guardian Newspaper. His leadership in the renewable energy industry in Africa earned him a Board seat in the Finance working Group of the Africa Mini-Grid Developers Association, an advisory board seat in the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria where he also chairs the association’s Access to Finance Working Group.
Ifeanyi is equally a member of the Africa-Europe High-Level Platform for Sustainable Energy Investments in Africa which is an initiative of the African Union and the European Commission aimed at bolstering more collaboration between both continents towards increased energy investment in Africa for sustainable growth and job creation. Reminiscing on his challenging but exciting journey as a young African entrepreneur has spurred Ifeanyi to take up a new-found hobby on Mentoring young and aspiring African entrepreneurs to ensure they find their footing in the complexly dynamic but exciting African business environment.
Ifeanyi currently has 28 Protegees from 8 African Countries. Ifeanyi is a Youth Advisory Board Member in his home state of Anambra State, Nigeria with the mandate of advising the state executive council on policies and initiatives that will foster the growth and development of the state through improved opportunities for young people in the state. He has attended and presented papers at several international conferences. He has traveled to the USA, United Kingdom, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Cote D’Ivoire, Rwanda, Tanzania, Guinea Conakry, Senegal, Togo, Turkey, Luxemburg, France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Canada, Netherlands, and the U.A.E.