Emeka Okafor

Nigerian inventor who created affordable solar-powered irrigation systems for African smallholder farmers

Emeka Okafor (born 1988) is a Nigerian engineer and social entrepreneur behind the revolutionary Sunrise Solar Irrigation System. Introduced in 2020, his modular solar pumps have enabled over 200,000 smallholder farmers in West Africa to triple crop yields without diesel costs. Emeka's design uses recycled materials and smartphone monitoring, reducing implementation costs by 70% compared to traditional systems. His 2022 collaboration with the African Development Bank expanded access to drought-prone regions in Mali and Niger. A 2023 UN Environment Programme report highlighted his work as a model for climate-resilient agriculture, estimating his technology prevents 1.2 million tons of CO2 annually. Emeka's TED Talk 'Sunlight to Harvest' inspired similar initiatives in Ethiopia and Kenya. His nonprofit Sunrise Foundation trains youth in solar agriculture engineering, creating 15,000 green jobs by 2024.