Oghenetejiri Gbakeji
Nigeria, 19
She/Her
Project: CarbonWize
Growing up in one of Nigeria’s most oil- and gas-intensive regions, Oghenetejiri witnessed how carbon emissions and gas flaring degraded the air quality in her community. Motivated to find a solution, she developed CarbonWize – a system that converts captured CO₂ into useful resources while transforming flared natural gas into hydrogen fuel. By pairing emissions reduction with clean energy production, CarbonWize aims to create a circular, revenue-generating pathway for high-emission industries to reduce waste and incentivize adopting cleaner practices. She has presented at industry conferences, including the SPE Africa Technology Conference, and had her research published in the SPE Petroleum Research Journal. Oghenetejiri is now developing a prototype while building relationships with technical experts and stakeholders to facilitate future deployment across Nigeria, and one day, the broader African energy sector.