The United Kingdom-backed Ayrton Fund has helped improve access to clean energy for 46 million people across emerging economies, while mobilising more than £3 billion in public and private investment and supporting over 256,000 green jobs.
The figures were disclosed in a statement issued on Monday ahead of the Ayrton-Oxford Academic Symposium at the University of Oxford.
The symposium is being organised by the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund in partnership with the Africa-Oxford Initiative, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Transforming Energy Access Learning Partnership and UK Research and Innovation.
According to the organisers, programmes supported by the fund have helped establish a global research and innovation network spanning 100 countries, with the participation of 78 universities and more than 840 innovators, academics and delivery partners.
The statement said the fund’s interventions had so far improved clean-energy access for 46 million people, attracted more than £3 billion in public and private finance and supported over 256,000 green jobs.
The initiatives have also generated 191 technology patent applications and contributed to more than 2,400 research papers as efforts continue to turn scientific research into commercially viable solutions for communities facing energy shortages.
The organisers said the Oxford symposium would explore ways universities, innovators, policymakers and investors could strengthen collaboration to accelerate energy access, climate resilience and sustainable economic growth.
A Senior International Funds Manager at UK Research and Innovation, Caroline Ward, said the event would help strengthen partnerships across the clean-energy value chain.
“The Ayrton-Oxford Academic Symposium provides an important opportunity to strengthen collaboration between universities, innovators, funders and policymakers across the UK and partner countries,” Ward said.
She added that bringing global experts together could help create equitable partnerships, attract investment and speed up the development of clean-energy solutions capable of supporting economic growth and climate resilience.
The Director of the Africa Oxford Initiative, Professor Kevin Marsh, said African researchers would play a crucial role in addressing global challenges, particularly energy poverty and the transition to greener economies.
Marsh stressed that translating research into practical impact would require stronger collaboration between research institutions, innovators and investors.
He noted that the Africa Oxford Initiative had spent the past decade supporting hundreds of African researchers, scholars and innovators.
Nigerian University Benefits From Partnership
A Nigerian academic at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Professor Misbahu Mohammed, said his participation in the Transforming Energy Access Learning Partnership had contributed to changes in renewable-energy education at the institution.
Mohammed said the partnership had strengthened the university’s Master of Science Renewable Energy Programme through the introduction of two practical courses: Local Solutions for Energy Access and Appliances for Off-Grid Communities.
He said the collaboration demonstrated that external partnerships and targeted funding could accelerate curriculum reform and help universities respond more effectively to local energy challenges.
According to him, the courses are helping students move beyond theoretical knowledge by exposing them to practical technologies and market-oriented solutions relevant to Nigeria’s renewable-energy sector.
Mohammed also called on African universities to become active partners in developing energy-education and innovation strategies rather than serving only as recipients of external support.
The first phase of the Ayrton Fund ran from 2021 to 2026 and was implemented through 40 UK-funded programmes involving more than 1,000 partners worldwide.
Its second phase is currently underway and is expected to run until 2030.
The development comes as Nigeria and other African countries continue to pursue decentralised renewable-energy solutions to address persistent electricity-access challenges, particularly in rural and off-grid communities.
