When Olugbenga Olubanjo was pursuing a master of applied science in civil engineering at U of T, calls with family and friends in Nigeria were often disconnected because of frequent power outages in his home country. The experience sparked the idea for his startup, Reeddi (pronounced “ready”), which manufactures portable and rechargeable batteries powered by solar charging stations to support individuals living in areas with unreliable energy infrastructure.
Launched in 2019, Reeddi’s flashlight-sized lithium-ion power capsules are now available to rent for 50 cents a day at corner stores and solar-powered charging stations in Nigeria. Each capsule can provide 200 watt-hours (Wh) of energy, enough to charge a laptop for four hours, fully charge three mobile phones and run household lights for several hours, all at once.
More than 3,000 households and businesses in Nigeria now receive clean electricity via Reeddi’s product every month.
Olugbenga received support from several U of T entrepreneurship programs, including the Hatchery, whose 3D printers helped create Reeddi’s prototypes, University of Toronto Early Stage Technology Program (UTEST) and Black Founders Network.
“From clear communication to research, I left U of T equipped with essential and excellent skills needed to run the firm,” Olugbenga says. “We do a lot of communication, analysis, forecasting and research at Reeddi, which are skills I picked up at U of T.”
Reeddi’s international accolades include being named one of Time’s 100 best inventions of 2021 and one of 15 finalists for the inaugural Earthshot Prize, launched by Prince William to mobilize collective action around climate change.
“The beauty of entrepreneurship is even if you fail, and things don’t work at the time, you are equipped with some practical skills that cannot be learned by just reading,” Olugbenga says. “It scales the way you think by default and changes the way you approach anything and everything.”
