EMPOWER: Vol 6, Issue 3 – September 2025

In the second half of the year, IEEE Smart Village continues to embrace new opportunities for impactful engagement. The organization’s core mission, “Empowerment through Enterprise,” remains at the forefront, enabling meaningful change within underserved communities. Operating as a social seed fund, IEEE Smart Village invests substantial efforts behind the scenes to support each enterprise it funds, guiding the pre-application stage through to post-deployment networking and publicity.

This article outlines special events taking place in this period. The flagship event, ISV@PAC-25, will be held at the Power Africa Conference 2025 (PAC-25) from 28 September to 3 October in Cairo, Egypt. Additionally, planning has commenced for the ISV South Asia Symposium, scheduled for February 2026 in Navi Mumbai, India.

The PAC-25 organizing committee is chaired this year by Dr. Irene Samy and is sponsored by the IEEE Power Energy Society and IEEE Industry Applications Society. Over 300 participants from across Africa and beyond will be participating in this conference. This includes more than 60 individuals involved with ISV@PAC-25, representing Africa, the Americas, South Asia, and China. Senior leadership from IEEE PES, NPSS, IAS, Entrepreneurship, and ISV will be in attendance, supporting volunteers, current and past developers, prospective applicants, and students interested in collaboration.

Over fifteen years ago, co-founders Ray Larsen and Robin Podmore introduced a pioneering development model focused on sustainability, scalability, and longevity. This event offers valuable insights into this approach and highlights ongoing efforts to serve communities typically beyond IEEE’s traditional reach.

Notable attendees from organizations we funded more than a decade ago, including Ifeanyi Orajaka (Nigeria), Jude Numfor (Cameroon), and Mou Riiny (South Sudan), will also attend. Today, they are recognized as the leading providers of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in their countries. You will hear about their experiences and a pan-Africa initiative they have started. You will also hear from emerging leaders from Africa, China, India, and the USA. The event will provide you with excellent opportunities to network and exchange experiences about renewable energy and the productive use of technology. You will interact with changemakers, frontline workers, and volunteers. You will also have access to formal programs of ISV@PAC-25 and of PAC-25, facilitating further interaction and knowledge sharing.

The ISV@PAC-25 program features opening and closing social events and a comprehensive formal agenda. We will start with a panel on the experiences of our early stars, followed by expert panels on topics such as ISV funding and operations overviews, Marketing, AgriTech, Enterprise Governance, Business Models, HealthTech, and Post-ISV Fundraising. A session dedicated to OpenAMI, a pan-Africa, open-source metering infrastructure initiative for mini-grids, is also included.  The program will end with a technical site visit. Please check the agenda (Power Africa Conference 2025) for up-to-date information on the ISV program.

These initiatives have been made possible through the commitment of staff and volunteers, as well as continued support from IEEE Societies and Councils, and the IEEE Foundation. We are deeply grateful to the exceptional organizations funded by IEEE Smart Village, whose achievements under challenging circumstances are the motivation for everything we do.

Sincerely,
Rajan Kapur
President, IEEE Smart Village

IEEE Smart Village, in partnership with Shaybis Nigeria Ltd, is implementing a transformative initiative—the SNL Electrical Vocational Training Center, Electropreneur Hub—in Ilorin, Kwara State. With a $57,000 investment, the project is providing young Nigerians with practical skills in renewable energy, electrical systems, and entrepreneurship, creating opportunities for self-reliance and sustainable livelihoods.

The hub is powered by solar energy, making it a model for sustainable education and innovation. Trainees are gaining hands-on experience in building wiring, solar and wind energy systems, CCTV installation, domestic electronics, computer programming, and the maintenance of telecommunications equipment. Beyond technical expertise, the program is actively delivering entrepreneurship and leadership training, enabling graduates to excel as job creators or highly skilled professionals.

Nigeria’s unemployment rate remains high, with many young people struggling to acquire industry-relevant skills. The Electropreneur Hub is bridging this gap by preparing 200 to 500 young people annually for productive engagement. Over the next decade, the initiative is projected to impact more than one million Nigerians, directly and indirectly improving lives and stimulating local economies.

The project also places strong emphasis on gender inclusion, with deliberate measures to encourage female participation in technology and energy-related fields. By doing so, it helps break barriers and create equal opportunities for women in technical careers.

Building on Shaybis Nigeria’s earlier success with the IEEE Smart Village-supported microgrid in Lajolo, which continues to provide electricity and economic empowerment, the Ilorin hub is scaling up impact through renewable energy, education, and enterprise development.

The Electropreneur Hub is not just a training center—it is an ongoing beacon of empowerment, innovation, and hope, lighting the path toward a brighter, more prosperous future for Nigeria.

The mission of IEEE Smart Village (ISV) is “Empowerment through Enterprise.” ISV supports multi-year initiatives built on three pillars: growing local enterprises based on electrification, productive use of technology, and enhancing education to improve livelihoods in underserved communities. By supporting local, self-governed, self-sustaining, and scalable enterprises, ISV aims to address climate change by electrifying rural economies.

Kudagaon is an off-grid Island on a major river in southeastern India. The inhabitants are subsistence farmers, earning about $350 a year from rain-fed agriculture that produces one crop per year. Even today, there is no bridge to access the island. In 2019, SunMoksha Power Pvt. Ltd., a Bangalore-based social enterprise, commissioned a solar microgrid to provide the village with lighting and power for a few basic appliances and village enterprises. The capital funds were provided by Good Energies Foundation. However, irrigation water remained an unfulfilled need. In 2023, SunMoksha secured additional funding with generous support from the ISV sponsored by the Power and Energy Society (PES) for building a smart irrigation system.

This phase consisted of enhancing the capacity of the smart microgrid from 20kWp to 26.5kWp to accommodate a 10 horsepower pump drawing water from the river and pumping it to a 150,000-liter sump. This avoids the use of diesel pumping, which is polluting and has high operational and transportation costs. Another standalone pumping system of 5kWp was installed in this sump to deliver water to 30 acres of land. It includes integration of Smart AQUAnet™, an IoT and cloud solution that optimizes water usage and increases productivity for a given liter of water. The water demand-supply management is based on real-time data from sensors (soil moisture) communicating with cloud computing operated by SunMoksha. Individual farmers decide irrigation duration based on local sensor data.

SunMoksha has trained several local inhabitants and constructed the system with a proven EPC capability. It will transfer ownership of the system to a Village Water Committee, comprised of local inhabitants and a representative from SunMoksha. The committee will run the system as a business: they will operate the facility and provide front-line maintenance. They will escalate more complex issues to SunMoksha, who will also monitor the system remotely. The Committee will set tariffs, collect monthly dues, and operate a bank account. The funds will be used for operations and maintenance, and future expansion. This model has been proven very successful with their Smart Microgrid implementation, where the savings were used for O&M and for battery replacement after five years of operations.

The villagers are looking forward to using smart irrigation to increase their income from approximately $350 to $1000 a year by growing multiple crops a year.

At the IEEE IAS & IAS PowerAfrica 2025 in Cairo, ISV plays a central role as both a knowledge hub and a catalyst for action. Through entrepreneurship workshops, technical sessions, developer showcases, and competitions, ISV brings together engineers, developers, entrepreneurs, policy makers, students, and community leaders to share innovations and build partnerships.

The ISV sessions at the PowerAfrica conference, while in line with the 3-pillars of ISV, promises to deliver on three fronts:

• Capacity Building – equipping participants with practical skills in enterprise governance, technology deployment, and sustainable development.
• Innovation Showcase – highlighting real-world solutions and entrepreneurial ventures that address Africa’s energy access challenges.
• Collaboration & Networking – creating opportunities for cross-disciplinary dialogue, mentorship, and partnerships that extend well beyond the conference.

Ultimately, ISV’s presence at PowerAfrica 2025 is about more than showcasing technology — it is about empowering people, amplifying local solutions, and lighting the path to a sustainable future for all.

ISV at PowerAfrica 2025 – Day-by-Day Highlights

• Day 0: Delegates arrive in Cairo to begin an exciting week of knowledge sharing and collaboration. The evening welcome reception unites new talents and long-standing ISV partners in a spirit of fellowship.
• Day 1 (Sept 28): ISV hosts its signature entrepreneurship workshop but this time starting with a field trip to Nile University to visit two of the ISV Sponsored Projects, then an impactful session from veteran developers equipping delegates/participants with tools for Mini-grids, productive use, success stories and how challenges were overcome. Orientation sessions further introduce attendees to ISV’s vision and pathways for engagement.
• Day 2 (Sept 29): The official conference opens with a dynamic plenary session and keynote addresses from global leaders. ISV sessions explore enterprise lifecycles, solar manufacturing, and developer innovations. Students would also get to present groundbreaking research through the paper competition at multiple academic levels.
• Day 3 (Sept 30): Technical sessions highlight practical models for community energy and micro-utilities. ISV Committees would also give presentations on their operations and goals for the coming year.
• Day 4 (Oct 1): More ISV developers take the stage giving insightful presentations about their projects, problems, and solutions proffered to overcome challenges. Panels and plenary talks about sustainability, and collaborative approaches to energy access.
• Day 5 (Oct 2): Delegates tour Elsewedy Electric Company, gaining first-hand exposure to renewable energy and advanced storage technologies. This experience connects global innovation with local industrial expertise.
• Day 6 (Oct 3): ISV concludes the week with focused workshops on governance, investment, and enterprise scaling. The awards ceremony and farewell banquet celebrate achievements and solidify connections made throughout the conference.

What is now the IEEE PowerAfrica Conference started as the “IEEE Power Engineering Society Inaugural Conference and Exposition in Africa” in 2005 by IEEE PES and Georgia Institute of Technology’s late Professor Ron Harley, who was of South African descent. It was held from July 11-15 in the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa. It was followed by a 2007 conference in the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Then Power Engineering Society (PES) was the 20% financial sponsor, and the South Africa Section PE chapter was the 80% financial sponsor. Professor Harley was the 2007 conference chair. With PES changing its acronym to the “Power & Energy Society,” the 2012 conference was titled “IEEE Power & Energy Society Conference and Exposition in Africa: Intelligent Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Resources,” held from July 9-13, again in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. PES was the 100% financial sponsor, and the South Africa Section PE Chapter was a Technical Cosponsor. The conference chair for this conference was Professor Ian Jandrell, School of Electrical and Information Engineering, The University of the Witwatersrand. The conference had never been held outside of South Africa.

In 2014, then executive director of PES, Mr. Pat Ryan, requested Urenna Onyewuchi, Ph.D., senior power engineer and global energy manager at Corning Incorporated, to establish the IEEE PES Power Africa Conference. He understood her passion to increase energy access in Nigeria, where she spent over a decade of her young life, and in Africa at large. Pat’s concern with the conferences in Africa was the lack of IEEE and IEEE PES branding, lack of consistency and regularity (2005, 2007, 2012), and its presence in South Africa alone. Urenna selected her conference planning team with help from the PES executive board. The 2015 conference was to be held in Tunisia, chosen for several reasons, including its very active PES chapter. The conference was canceled for that year and moved to Zambia for 2016, when, a few months before the conference, Tunisia suffered a terrorist attack. Urenna created a scoring matrix that the first PES Power Africa Conference Steering Committee, convened by then Vice President of Meetings and Conferences, Mr. Tommy Mayne, of which she was the first chair, used to determine future locations of the conference. The matrix included country security (terrorism and political elections), how active the PES local chapter was, the presence of tourist attractions, and more.

The 2016 conference was successfully held in beautiful Avani Resorts, Livingstone, Zambia: home to Victoria Falls, with 32 countries represented. The conference turned a profit. Because the local organizing committee was not active at this first conference, much of the conference planning was done remotely by Urenna with Prof. Karen Butler-Purry of Texas A&M as the conference treasurer and Mr. Prince Ibe as the first volunteer webmaster. Urenna selected the conference venue remotely, oversaw marketing and branding of the conference, vendor selection, and created a strategic partnership with IEEE Smart Village through Dr. Robin Podmore. She designed the general program, which included local Zambian entertainment at the gala dinner, and the technical program with the technical program committee. She facilitated the first IEEE Power Africa Women in Power panel session, where about fifty secondary school girls participated in the WIP program. The conference successfully exposed those girls to STEM fields: they were excited. She helped create the first Power Africa Smart Village Ambassador program, scouting for volunteers to help lead the ambassadorial effort. Henry Ureh was one such volunteer. Smart Village funding has increased since being a strong part of the IEEE Power Africa Conference, with Smart Village programming occurring alongside Power Africa programming to train carefully selected aspiring African entrepreneurs in the renewable energy space.

The gaps Urenna noticed in the conference planning that year led her to establish the aprofessionalafrica.com platform to train aspiring and experienced power and energy professionals in leadership, communications, management, entrepreneurship, and more. Since 2016, the conference has been held in Accra, Ghana (2017); Cape Town, South Africa (2018); Abuja, Nigeria (2019); Virtual, Kenya (2020 & 2021); Kigali, Rwanda (2022); Marrakech, Morocco (2023); Johannesburg, South Africa (2024); and now planned for Cairo, Egypt (2025).

Around 2018, Urenna secured a second major partnership with IAS through Dr. Avoki Omekanda so that the conference became branded as the IEEE PES & IAS Power Africa Conference with the two societies serving as financial co-sponsors of the conference. PES and IAS have big plans for the future of the conference, including continuing to strategically select the locations of the future conferences through the Steering Committee presently chaired by Dr. Josiah Munda. The 2025 conference is expected to see about 300 participants in Cairo, Egypt. The 2026 conference will be held in Nairobi, Kenya.