Solar-powered cold rooms: how ColdHubs is transforming food preservation in Nigeria through the formula “pay-as-you-store”
In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the challenge is not only production, but preservation. Perishable goods such as fruits, vegetables and fish often spoil within a few days due to the lack of reliable refrigeration. In Nigeria, this results in significant post-harvest losses, sometimes reaching up to 50% of total production.
ColdHubs is a Nigerian social enterprise founded in 2015 by Nnaemeka C. Ikegwuonu and headquartered in Owerri, Imo State. The company designs, installs and operates solar-powered cold rooms for the preservation of perishable agricultural products, providing reliable refrigeration in rural areas without access to stable electricity. Its mission is to reduce post-harvest food losses while increasing the income of smallholder farmers through sustainable, off-grid cooling solutions. More information is available on their official website: https://www.coldhubs.com
A simple technology addressing a systemic gap
ColdHubs are modular walk-in cold rooms powered entirely by solar energy. The system combines photovoltaic panels, battery storage, and efficient refrigeration units capable of maintaining temperatures between -5°C and +15°C. This allows continuous operation even in areas without access to the electrical grid.
What makes this model particularly effective is its simplicity and adaptability. The cold rooms are installed directly in markets or near production clusters, reducing the time between harvest and storage. This is critical in tropical climates, where high temperatures accelerate spoilage.
A key element of the model is the “pay-as-you-store” approach, which allows users to rent space on a daily basis instead of investing in their own infrastructure. This creates accessibility for small-scale farmers and traders who would otherwise be excluded from cold chain systems (foodplanetprize.org).
From agriculture to fisheries: expanding the cold chain where it matters most
Although ColdHubs was primarily designed for agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables, its implications extend to other perishable value chains, including fisheries.
In many coastal and inland fishing communities, the lack of cold storage leads to rapid spoilage of fish, forcing fishers to sell immediately at low prices or incur significant losses. Solar-powered cold rooms can play a similar role to what ColdHubs has achieved in agriculture by:
- preserving fish quality for longer periods
- reducing post-harvest losses in artisanal fisheries
- enabling better market timing and price negotiation
- improving food safety and hygiene
While most documented deployments of ColdHubs focus on agricultural markets, pilot experiences and related initiatives in Africa have shown that solar refrigeration systems can be adapted to fish landing sites and fish markets, especially where ice supply and electricity are limited (iifiir.org; energy-base.org).
Today, ColdHubs has installed over 50 cold rooms across Nigeria, serving more than 11,000 users, including farmers, traders and food vendors. The model has also contributed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by replacing diesel-based refrigeration with clean solar energy (iifiir.org; set-alliance.org).
A scalable model for resilient food systems
ColdHubs demonstrates how decentralized infrastructure can strengthen local food systems by addressing one of their weakest links: storage. By combining renewable energy, modular design and inclusive business models, it provides a practical response to food loss, income instability and energy access challenges.
At its core, this is not only a technological innovation, but a systemic one. It redefines how value is preserved along the food chain, empowering small-scale actors to retain control over their products and livelihoods.
As similar challenges persist across both agriculture and fisheries in many regions of the world, solutions like ColdHubs offer a clear lesson: sometimes, the most impactful innovations are those that make existing systems work better, rather than replacing them entirely.
Solar-powered cold rooms: how ColdHubs is transforming food preservation in Nigeria through the formula “pay-as-you-store”
