In Nigeria’s offices, factories, and hospitals, power comes from a patchwork of grid electricity, solar panels, batteries, and diesel generators, but the pieces rarely talk to each other. The result is wasted energy, higher costs, and a constant scramble to keep the lights on.
This is the gap PowerLabs wants to close. The Lagos-based energy and climate-tech startup, founded in January 2023 by Tobechukwu Arize, David Adebiyi, Joses Williams, and Eghonghon-aye Eigbe, says it wants to make sense of Nigeria’s crowded power mix. Its premise is simple: that the country’s energy problem is no longer just about supply, but coordination.
PowerLabs is building what it calls an “intelligence layer” for energy. The system combines software with embedded hardware to manage multiple power inputs: grid, diesel, solar, and storage, as a single, responsive network.
The timing is hard to ignore. Nigeria’s power sector continues to operate under structural strain, with a wide gulf between installed capacity and actual output. While the country can theoretically generate over 13,000 megawatts, the real supply in early 2026 has hovered far lower, weighed down by gas shortages, ageing infrastructure, and recurring grid failures.
