In the rural Nigerian neighbourhood where Stanley Anigbogu grew up, power outages were a fact of life. Without consistent electricity, Anigbogu relied on candlelight or kerosene lamps to study into the evening, their toxic fumes filling his room as he worked. But while clean energy sources were scarce, Anigbogu saw that one resource was dependably abundant: waste.

LightEd was driven by Anigbogu’s vision of creating a world in which clean, reliable, and affordable electricity is available to all. Experimenting with single-use plastic bottles, e-waste, and 3-D printing technologies, Anigbogu developed a system to recycle discarded materials into non-polluting, solar-powered lighting solutions, opening trading hours for small businesses and making rural areas safer and more accessible.

Since joining the Young Climate Prize cohort, Anigbogu has been selected as one of twenty fellows for the 776 Foundation 2024 Climate Fellowship and named the winner of the ORG. Impact Rising Star Award (among numerous others). Meanwhile, LightEd’s The Light for Peace program has provided over 22,000 internally displaced refugees and 500 students with electricity sources to replace harmful household fuels.

Jon Marshall is an acclaimed industrial designer and partner. In this fourth video from our Young Climate Stories series, Jon reflects on the difference in problem-solving approaches between his generation and young people today, and how — in a time of overwhelming change — their alternative perspectives are needed more than ever.