Damilola Ogunbiyi

Damilola Ogunbiyi HonFREng [1] is a global leader and advocate for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a focus on SDG7, which calls for access to reliable, affordable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030. She is the Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy.[2]

Damilola Ogunbiyi speaking at COP26 in Glasgow, November 2021

With Mrs. Ogunbiyi at the helm, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) has entered into working relationships with over 200 partners, supported over 90 countries globally, and secured commitments of more than $600 billion in energy finance. This has been achieved through programmes such as Universal Energy Facility, Powering Healthcare, Women and Youth at the Forefront, Cooling for All, and Clean Cooking; and innovative initiatives such as UN Energy Compacts,[3] Energy Transition Plans,[4] Universal Integrated Energy Plans, the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI), and the Renewable Energy Manufacturing Initiative (REMI) among many others. Through her leadership, SEforALL has grown its global influence and country support providing clear pathways to accelerate progress towards universal energy access, ending energy poverty, and advancing the global just and equitable energy transition.

Prior to joining SEforALL, Mrs. Ogunbiyi was the first female Managing Director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency where she initiated the Nigerian Electrification Project, a USD 550 million facility which is a joint World Bank and African Development Bank programme that to date provided energy access to over 1 million people across Nigeria. She also conceptualised the Energizing Economies Initiative, estimated to impact 1.2 million SMEs.

Before joining the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), Mrs. Ogunbiyi was the first female General Manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board. Under her leadership, five independent power projects were completed to deliver over 55 megawatts of power to Lagos State hospitals, schools, and government facilities.  

Mrs. Ogunbiyi is a member of the Global Leadership Council (GLC) of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), an Advisory Board member of the Center on Global Energy Policy, a member of the Development Advisory Council of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), a member of the Clean Cooking Alliance Advisory Board, and a member of the Advisory Board of University of Oxford’s Future of Cooling Programme.