Podcast
From Research to Practice A Podcast on Currency Risk and Energy Access
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Listen to the first episode with Churchill Agutu (moderator), Daniel Komolafe (CEO and Founder of First Electric, NG, and Bodunde Akinola ( CrossBoundary Group):
Electrified & Exposed Ep.1: Why Currency Risk Matters for Sub-Saharan Africa's Off-Grid Energy Future
Churchill Agutu, Early-Career Fellow at the Collegium Helveticum, is exploring how academic research and practitioner knowledge can be brought into closer dialogue through innovative public engagement formats. During his fellowship, he focuses on one of the most pressing yet often underappreciated barriers to the clean energy transition in sub-Saharan Africa: currency risk.
In collaboration with the podcast platform Energy Talk, Churchill launched a two-part mini-series examining how currency volatility shapes energy access, investment decisions, and the viability of off-grid electrification companies and projects across the continent. The series brings together researchers, entrepreneurs, financiers, and advisers working directly on these challenges, creating a space where academic analysis and practical experience can inform one another.
“While peer-reviewed research often takes years to publish, practitioners navigating volatile markets require immediate insights and actionable solutions.”
The first episode features Daniel Komolafe, CEO and founder of First Electric in Nigeria, and Bodunde Akinola from CrossBoundary Group. Their conversations highlight how currency risk can threaten the survival of energy companies whose revenues are earned in local currency while debt obligations are denominated in hard currency. At the same time, the discussions explore possible responses, including local currency financing, blended finance instruments, guarantees, and hedging mechanisms.
For Churchill, “the podcast format offers a way to bridge the different temporalities of academia and practice. While peer-reviewed research often takes years to be published, practitioners navigating volatile markets require immediate insights and actionable solutions.” By bringing these perspectives into conversation, the project demonstrates how interdisciplinary research at the Collegium can engage directly with urgent global challenges.
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