By Peter Egwuatu

LAGOS, NIGERIA – Nigerian climate tech entrepreneur Ayo Ogunlowo is proving that local innovation can meet global standards, with his carbon accounting platform CarbonScope360.

Speaking at the Web Summit Qatar on February 2, Ogunlowo, Founder of Atunlo and CarbonScope360, made a compelling case for building climate technology solutions locally rather than importing them, a philosophy now being validated by institutional uptake of his platform.

“You can’t import climate tech and expect it to work effectively,” Ogunlowo told a masterclass audience at the Tech Connect Africa session titled “Learnings from the African Diaspora: Leveraging Global Communities to Fuel Innovation.” “The solution is to build locally while working with people who have done this outside, so that it maintains global standards.”

The insight came from a critical gap Ogunlowo identified: Nigeria has no locally-built climate tech software capable of tracking the complex emissions profiles of its financial institutions. CarbonScope360 was developed to solve this problem.

For Nigerian banks, carbon accounting is more complex than most realize. “A bank has over 600 branches with an average of two generators per branch, pool cars for staff commuting. There is Scope 1, Scope 2, Scope 3 emissions, and then there is financed emissions as well,” Ogunlowo explained.

CarbonScope360 measures all of it: direct emissions from owned sources (Scope 1), indirect emissions from purchased energy (Scope 2), value chain emissions including employee commuting (Scope 3), and the increasingly scrutinised financed emissions carbon impact from the projects and companies banks fund.

As Nigerian startups increasingly compete on the global stage, CarbonScope360 represents a category of innovation the country has struggled to produce: enterprise-grade software solving institutional challenges while meeting international compliance standards.

But Ogunlowo’s vision extends beyond commercial success. Through the Atunlo Foundation, he has committed to an aggressive education and impact agenda: sponsoring over 200 students currently, with plans to reach 1,000 by year-end.

The foundation’s ₦3 million fund focuses on climate tech innovation and STEM education, building the next generation of African climate tech founders.

“Every kobo I get, I want to give back,” Ogunlowo said. “By the end of the year, I want to see if I can hit 1,000 students sponsored. No excuses, just get it done.”

The timing is strategic. As global climate finance flows toward emerging markets and African nations position themselves as climate solution hubs rather than merely recipients of aid, Ogunlowo’s dual approach, commercial innovation and social investment, offers a model for sustainable impact entrepreneurship.

 Ogunlowo shared the Web Summit panel with Asmaa Kotb, CEO of Koycber; Raquel Adaobi, CEO of Kinnect; moderated by Keziah Larbi, Head of Startups and Digital Content at Tech Connect Africa