Amadou Abdou Mahamadou Salissou, a 2024 Fellowship Alumnus and energy entrepreneur from Niger, is the 2025 Winner of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Catalyst Grant.  Through a partnership with IREX and D-Prize, he will address energy insecurity in the Sahel by distributing solar lamps to rural communities.

In 2022, Amadou founded Ouba Energy in Niamey, the capital city of Niger, to strengthen energy security in the West African nation.  To scale their operations, Ouba Energy is partnering with two American energy companies.  d.light, an American social enterprise with a global footprint, will partner with Ouba Energy to deploy affordable and reliable solar products to low-income households without electricity in rural communities.  Sun King, a leading provider of solar energy products for off-grid homes in the U.S. and internationally, will partner with Ouba Energy to distribute solar home systems.  Their collaboration leverages Sun King’s innovative pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing model and Ouba Energy’s regional expertise to access to markets previously inaccessible to U.S. companies.

Through these partnerships, Ouba Energy aims to enhance energy independence in the Sahel.  By accessing affordable and reliable energy solutions, rural communities will be able to extend business hours, reduce crime and accidents, and enable children to study after sunset, resulting in improved livelihoods, enhanced local economies, and better public safety.  Ouba Energy’s partnerships also highlight the benefit in partnering with American businesses to drive economic growth and regional stability.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship and D-Prize are proud to support Amadou as the 2025 Catalyst Grant recipient.

Learn more about the Catalyst Grant.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX.  For more information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship, visit www.mandelawashingtonfellowship.org.