A Finance Leader Driving Sustainability in Energy Innovation…
The West Africa Tech Excellence Forum (WATEF) has announced Ms. Adaobu Amini-Philips, a distinguished finance and procurement executive, as one of the judges for the WATECH Hackathon 2023, scheduled to hold during the West Africa Tech Excellence Forum (WATEF) International Conference. The Hackathon is one of Africa’s most anticipated technology and innovation challenges, designed to showcase creative solutions addressing some of the continent’s most pressing needs in renewable energy, data science, fintech, cybersecurity, and sustainability.
As a seasoned professional with over fourteen years of corporate experience, Ms. Amini-Philips’ inclusion in this year’s judging panel underscores WATEF’s commitment to celebrating leaders who blend financial intelligence with a strong sustainability mindset. Her selection is not just a recognition of her professional achievements but also a testament to her deep understanding of how finance and innovation intersect in shaping Africa’s future energy economy.
The 2023 edition of the Hackathon will bring together startups, technologists, and corporate innovators across West Africa, focusing on projects that demonstrate measurable sustainability outcomes and financial feasibility. In her role, Ms. Amini-Philips will serve as a judge for the Finance and Sustainability Strategy for Energy Corporations category, a critical segment where sound financial governance meets environmental responsibility.
A Proven Career of Financial and Procurement Leadership
Ms. Adaobu Amini-Philips’ professional journey at Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited exemplifies disciplined financial management, transparency, and cross-functional excellence. She has held pivotal roles that shaped the company’s fiscal responsibility and operational sustainability.
As Head of Revenue Accounting, she was responsible for ensuring the precision of revenue recognition, compliance with international reporting standards, and timely delivery of financial statements. Under her leadership, financial reporting at NLNG achieved new levels of reliability, earning the trust of both internal and external stakeholders.
Prior to that, as Senior Financial Reporting Accountant, Ms. Amini-Philips played a central role in coordinating financial closure processes, harmonizing data across departments, and maintaining alignment with global accounting frameworks. Her ability to transform complex financial data into actionable insights significantly improved management decision-making and forecasting accuracy.
Her role as Corporate Procurement Lead (Buyer) reflected her expertise in driving transparent and competitive procurement processes. She implemented frameworks that ensured value-for-money contracting, ethical vendor management, and adherence to governance standards that align with NLNG’s sustainability commitments.
Beyond her operational responsibilities, Ms. Amini-Philips has been instrumental in shaping the financial dimensions of NLNG’s ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives. She co-led the finance workstream that supports the company’s decarbonization and Net Zero ambitions, focusing on frameworks that align capital allocation with sustainability outcomes. Her contributions in this area have helped position NLNG as one of Africa’s energy firms committed to responsible growth and environmental stewardship.
An advocate for continuous learning, she holds an MBA from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Over the years, she has attended global leadership and sustainability training programs in Dubai, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria, strengthening her capacity to lead with both technical precision and ethical clarity.
Why She Is the Perfect Judge for WATECH Hackathon 2023
Ms. Amini-Philips’ appointment as a judge in the Finance and Sustainability Strategy for Energy Corporations category is both timely and strategic. With the global energy landscape shifting toward cleaner, more sustainable models, her experience in financial governance and sustainability integration makes her a valuable contributor to this year’s judging committee.
Her expertise lies in evaluating the long-term feasibility of innovation-driven projects balancing profitability with environmental and social impact. She brings an analytical approach that examines financial transparency, investment viability, and measurable sustainability metrics. For the WATECH Hackathon, this means participants can expect rigorous, fair, and insight-driven evaluations that reflect real-world corporate standards.
Speaking on her upcoming role, Ms. Amini-Philips noted:
“Finance plays a central role in shaping sustainability outcomes. Judging at the WATECH Hackathon 2023 provides an opportunity to encourage solutions that combine profitability with environmental responsibility. True innovation is not just about technology — it’s about creating systems that endure, scale, and serve both business and society.”
This perspective aligns seamlessly with the Hackathon’s mission to encourage African innovators to build solutions that are not only technologically sound but also commercially viable and socially responsible.
During her tenure at NLNG, Ms. Amini-Philips demonstrated an ability to evaluate projects beyond numbers assessing operational risks, procurement efficiency, and compliance with global standards. Her method emphasizes due diligence, cost optimization, and risk-adjusted performance principles that will guide her evaluation of this year’s Hackathon entries.
She will focus particularly on submissions that present innovative models for energy financing, carbon accountability, and sustainable infrastructure development, assessing how teams integrate economic feasibility with environmental preservation. Her involvement ensures that the Hackathon’s outcomes reflect not just innovation for innovation’s sake, but innovation that contributes meaningfully to Africa’s development agenda.
In 2022, she was instrumental in advising finance teams on resilience measures during global economic disruptions, ensuring business continuity through strategic cost realignment and process optimization. These experiences provide her with the perspective needed to evaluate how startups can build scalable and resilient business models in uncertain environments.
Her inclusion also reflects WATEF’s commitment to gender representation and professional diversity. As more women assume leadership in finance and sustainability, her example serves as both an inspiration and a benchmark for excellence.
Building Africa’s Future Through Sustainable Innovation
The WATECH Hackathon 2023 represents a platform for the continent’s brightest innovators to present ideas that can reshape industries and communities. By inviting Ms. Adaobu Amini-Philips to the judging panel, WATEF reinforces its mission to link innovation with integrity ensuring that every idea is tested not just for creativity, but for its ability to withstand the scrutiny of real-world application.
This year’s judging panel brings together an elite group of professionals from renewable energy, software engineering, cybersecurity, fintech, data science, and energy policy, all united by a common goal: to accelerate Africa’s sustainable technology revolution.
Ms. Amini-Philips’ presence on this panel adds strategic depth, bridging financial governance with environmental accountability. Her judgment will help ensure that the winning innovations are not only technically viable but also equipped with business models that can attract funding, scale effectively, and comply with industry regulations.
As WATEF continues to build platforms that amplify African excellence, it recognizes the importance of leaders like Ms. Amini-Philips individuals who bring integrity, intellect, and insight to the table. Her professional journey is a model for how finance professionals can become agents of innovation, using numbers not just to measure profit, but to chart the course for a more sustainable future.
The West Africa Tech Excellence Forum (WATEF) Hackathon is an annual initiative dedicated to fostering innovation across West Africa’s technology ecosystem. It connects startups, researchers, and industry leaders in a collaborative environment designed to tackle real-world challenges through creativity, technology, and strategy.
The 2023 edition continues this legacy, emphasizing sustainable growth, data-driven innovation, and the role of finance in achieving Africa’s clean energy transition. With judges like Ms. Adaobu Amini-Philips, the Hackathon maintains its reputation as one of the continent’s most credible and impactful platforms for nurturing ideas that drive measurable change.
For innovators, founders, and professionals across Africa, the WATECH Hackathon remains more than a competition, it is a movement towards building a continent powered by responsible innovation, transparent leadership, and inclusive progress.
The West Africa Tech Excellence Forum congratulates Ms. Adaobu Amini-Philips on her appointment and celebrates her contributions to advancing sustainability through finance and innovation.
