Energy Week 2025
Energy in Emerging Markets Case Competition
Register to watch the final round of the competition!
Graduate students across the globe are currently working on developing business models for a bitcoin mining firm enabling energy access in rural Africa.
🌍 7 countries represented
🏛️ 44 universities participating
👥 57 teams registered
🙌 245 participants in total
The Energy in Emerging Markets Case Competition, now in its 13th year, is sponsored by the Duke Fuqua MBA Energy Club and the James E. Rogers Energy Access Project at Duke University. The competition is part of Energy Week at Duke which brings industry experts, community organizers, and government officials, and students to discuss the energy-climate nexus and explore the ways in which energy both contributes to climate change and can be a major solution.
Register to watch the Final Round!
Support our finalists as they present their business models promoting off-grid energy access solutions — and enjoy a networking lunch with the judges.
Join the finalist teams and expert judges from the energy industry, academia and Gridless (this year’s contest partner) for the Final Round of the competition on November 4th from 9 a.m. – 2:30 pm at The Fuqua School of Business. Lunch will be provided! Spots are limited for the networking lunch—register to save your spot!
The contest connects students, academia, and industry in pursuit of unconventional business-based solutions that expose unrecognized opportunities with positive social and environmental impact. Student teams will tackle a real-world energy business challenge, with a total of $15,000 in prizes awarded to the winning student teams.
This year, we are partnering with Gridless, an African company that is helping mini-grids become viable off-grid energy access solutions using bitcoin mining. In addition to the chance to win almost $15,000 in prize money, participants will gain practical experience developing business models for future growth plans while tackling the challenge of stranded power in mini-grids in developing countries.
- Logistical questions can be directed to casecompetition@duke.edu.
Final Round Agenda
8:00 - 9:00 am
Team registration and Morning refreshments (Kirby Reading Room)
9:00 - 9:30 am
Opening remarks (McClendon Auditorium)
9:30 - 10:05 am
Team 1 Presentation
10:10 - 10:45 am
Team 2 Presentation
10:50 - 11:25 am
Team 3 Presentation
11:25 - 11:45 am
Break
11:45 am - 12:20 pm
Team 4 Presentation
12:25 - 1:00 pm
Team 5 Presentation
1:00 - 2:30 pm
Networking Lunch (Kirby Reading Room)
2:30 - 3:00 pm
Announce winners and closing remarks (McClendon Auditorium)
Panel of Judges
Jide Olutoke
Senior Associate – Power
Rockefeller Foundation
Deea Ariana
Energy Specialist
World Bank
Shaun Lee
Vice President, Communications
Cyclum Renewables, Investment & Renewable Fuels Support
Bio
Jide Olutoke works within the Power & Climate team at the Rockefeller Foundation. Jide works on projects ranging from grid digitization, critical minerals, and off-grid electrification. Previously, he worked within the Innovation Lab at the Climate Policy Initiative where he led the incubation of blended finance instruments for infrastructure, sustainable agriculture, and climate projects. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Obafemi Awolowo University (Ife) and a MPP(environment and energy concentration) from Duke University.
Bio
Deea is an energy professional passionate about advancing equitable access to energy and driving collaboration between the public and private sectors to strengthen infrastructure, enhance service delivery, and advance economic development. She is currently an Energy Specialist with the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), where she works on energy access, focusing on scaling up distributed renewable energy solutions. Her work spans Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, supporting governments in designing and implementing electrification programs, with a particular focus on fragile and conflict-affected countries. Deea holds a master’s degree in International Economics and Development from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and has been recognized as a Women Leader in Energy and Climate Fellow by the Atlantic Council.
Bio
Shaun Lee is a highly experienced executive and mechanical engineer with over 25 years of experience leading sustainable energy projects across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. As Managing Partner at GESS RNG Biogas and Cyclum Renewables, he directs the engineering and strategic development of large-scale renewable natural gas (RNG), micro-grid, and waste-to-energy infrastructure. His work spans energy efficiency, biogas integration, solar cogeneration, and smart grid technologies. Lee’s career includes executive leadership roles in California, West Coast, Northeast, Florida, Ukraine, Europe, Eastern Europe, with successful project delivery in collaboration with global entities such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD), and major U.S. utilities including Duke Energy, Dominion, and Florida Power & Light. Recognized as a subject-matter expert by UNECE and the Ukrainian government, he has led sustainability initiatives for district heating systems, commercial facilities, and industrial plants across more than 5 countries. An advocate of innovative, scalable solutions, Shaun has driven numerous energy infrastructure projects, supporting carbon reduction, resilience, and financial returns. He holds a Mechanical Engineering and Project Management background from UCLA and has contributed to early market adoption of cogeneration microturbines, renewable fueling stations, and smart load control systems for Indigenous communities and urban centers alike.
Justin Larson
Senior Energy Economist
RTI International
Valentina Guido
Senior Associate
RMI
Bio
Justin is a climate and energy economist in RTI’s Center for International Development, where he focuses on their energy development practice area. His geographic experience includes Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and Sub-Saharan Africa. He previously served multiple roles under RTI’s USAID/Power Africa portfolio. From 2019 through 2023, he lived in Pretoria, South Africa, working on the Power Africa Off-grid Project. He worked across East, Central, and West Africa, leading a grant portfolio that electrified 227 off-grid healthcare facilities across 11 countries. He also led innovation efforts and was the technical advisor to the Power Africa Coordinator’s Office. He acted as a technical liaison to USAID/Power Africa, led research activities, and provided analytical support across the portfolio of teams.
Bio
Valentina is a senior associate with the Global South and Strategy programs, currently supporting the ideation and implementation of a variety of projects focusing on equity, environmental justice, women’s empowerment and community engagement. Some of Valentina’s work involve convening the Africa Minigrids Program’s Community of Practice, developing RMI’s Energy Transition Academy’s gender offerings, and engaging with community-based organizations in California. Prior to these roles, Valentina led research on supply chain traceability issues and helped establish RMI’s Carbon Markets initiative, where she developed a framework to assess social and environmental impacts of carbon credit generation. Before joining RMI in 2021, Valentina worked as a sustainability analyst for the Reporting Matters project of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Prior to that, she was a research and communications assistant at the Energy Politics Group of ETH Zurich and the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative within the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).Outside of work, Valentina is a passionate Toastmaster. In New York City’s District 46, she serves as a division director overseeing and supporting 20 clubs.
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The Energy in Emerging Markets Case Competition is part of:
Questions?
casecompetition@duke.edu