In April 2021, BBC described Yetunde Fadeyi as an “award winning environmentalist”. Yetunde Deborah Fadeyi, born 17th August, 1992 is the founder of REES Africa (Renewable Energy & Environmental Sustainabilty for Africa Initiative) which is a non-governmental organization committed to helping rural and underserved areas access energy as well as promoting environmental sustainability as a lifestyle. The organisation is currently on a mission to fight climate change, and eradicate energy poverty at the same time through advocacy and enterprise solutions.
Yetunde Deborah Fadeyi is also the co-founder of WattCore Energy, a renewable energy development company committed to deploying clean, sustainable, specialised, and cost-effective solutions to different target audiences ranging from commercial to utility markets. The aim is to facilitate a substantial reduction in carbon emissions from organizations and households that could affect our climate.
Vectar energy, which is also a brainchild of Yetunde was birth when she saw the need for a reduction in the use of fossil fuels which has a negative effect on our environment particularly the atmosphere.
What birth REES Africa?
Yetunde Fadeyi, although she wanted to be an engineer while growing up, developed interest in environmental pollution and energy poverty because of she was ravaged by the direct impact of energy poverty and environmental challenges as far back as her childhood. Her childhood best friend died from carbonmonoxide poisoning from her family’s power generator. This occurrence caused her to discover that some of the equipment we use can be very dangerous for us and the society even though they make life easy for us. However, she could not do anything as a child, then.
Asides from the trauma she experienced as her child when her best friend died, she battled with flood ravaging the house in which she lived with her parents for years. The situation affected her family greatly that she had to engage in side jobs in order to see herself through school especially in her final year in the University.
Yetunde’s desire to proffer solution to the painful experiences she had growing up, birth REES Africa in 2017.
Yetunde's Work
REES Africa has carried out over 20 environmental sustainability campaigns in urban and peri-urban areas, to address lifestyle issues and create awareness impacting a total of 9,000 beneficiaries in Nigeria and Ghana.
Through Yetunde’s work, 8 century-old rural communities with no prior access to electricity in Lagos and Oyo states have been literally lit up, impacting about 7,000 people directly. REES Africa has also prequalified 10 more communities in Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna, Abuja, and Nasarawa.
Asides from her work in REES Africa, WattCore Energy and Vectar Energy, Yetunde Fadeyi is also the author of the book - Jemima and the Wind Turbine. The book has been endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Environment.
Yetunde’s Personal Life and Eduation
Yetunde is the first of three children born to a Yoruba father and an Edo mother. She grew up in Lagos State, Nigeria. She earned a bachelor degree in Chemistry from the University of Ibadan in 2012. She is yet to be married.
Awards and Nominations
With the amount of work and persistence that has gone into fueling Yetunde's social work, it is not surprising to know that Yetunde has been nominated for several awards and has won some.
She was nominated in 2018 as JCI Nigeria Ten Outstanding Young Persons. In 2019, she was awarded Chevening scholarships sponsored by the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth office and LADOL to study masters in Sustainable Energy and Environment, Mechanical Engineering at Cardiff University. She was awarded Nuffic scholarship by Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Inclusive Service Delivery and the SDGs course in 2019. She also got the Green Grant Award in 2019 which was the first indigenous environmental grant of the EETF Foundation. In 2020, she was awarded the One Young World Ambassador via the Audi Environmental Foundation. In February 2022, Yetunde was awarded TechWomen Emerging Leader by US Department of State.
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