When Prairie View A&M University MBA student, Eno Oduok (Class of 2025), stepped onto the stage at the HBCU Founders Initiative’s (HBCUFI) 2025 Better Futures Competition earlier this summer, she carried more than just a pitch deck — she brought a vision for the future of energy and a belief in what HBCU founders can achieve when fully supported.
Her startup, el powr, an AI-powered energy management platform, secured third place in the competition. Designed to help commercial buildings and school systems optimize energy consumption, reduce costs, and lower carbon emissions through a centralized hub, Oduok described it as the “Fitbit for commercial buildings,” in a press release shared with AFROTECH™.
Winning the HBCUFI Better Futures Competition felt “empowering, energizing, no pun intended,” she told AFROTECH™.
“HBCUFI is an organization that aligns with our values and our mission. It’s one of the few organizations worldwide that truly supports HBCU students, alumni and founders. But most importantly, invests in them, funds and fuels them. Being part of this competition felt very full circle for me.”
Launched in 2021 by Nex Cubed, HBCUFI is a nonprofit dedicated to closing the wealth gap by supporting HBCU students and alumni on their entrepreneurial journeys by launching tech-driven ventures, the organization’s website notes. Since launching the Better Futures Competition in 2023, HBCUFI has awarded more than $75,000, the organization shared with AFROTECH™.
Breaking Barriers: Dual Citizen And First-Gen Nigerian-American Innovator
Oduok’s entrepreneurial journey was shaped by her upbringing in Houston and her experience growing up in a Nigerian household. She told AFROTECH™ that her parents modeled resilience and creativity — her father is a taxi driver-turned-business owner and her mother is a registered nurse who also nurtured her artistic side.
“They were visual representation showing me that you can do both, you can be anything and that your future is limitless,” she reflected.
That perspective helped Oduok create her own path. In 2020, she launched Naija Comm, an award-winning multimedia company and community dedicated to uplifting Nigerian creatives and African change-makers across media, entertainment, sports, and other creative fields, as AFROTECH™ previously reported.
Naija Comm has worked with notable clients and partners like HBO, WhatsApp and I Stand With Immigrants, Oduok shared with AFROTECH™.
“Naija Comm has been featured on platforms reaching over one million people worldwide and has been featured in Forbes, Forbes Africa, Business Insider and BellaNaija. On the community side, we’ve curated networking events for founders and creatives to network, we’ve provided scholarships and grants to people, and shared job opportunities and resources to help them thrive.”
Reflecting on her journey with Naija Comm, Oduok shares, “What began as an idea and a passion project in my sister’s room turned into this award-winning business venture and global community…I didn’t have a space like that growing up, so it’s cool to give that to other people — especially the next generation.”
Recognition, Mentorship And Paying It Forward
Naija Comm’s impact was recognized on a global scale when Oduok was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Media in 2022, the youngest honoree that year.
“I got that award in my early 20s, and it really inspired me to keep going,” she told AFROTECH™.
“It showed the power of Black creation for me. I got that award for something I created something, something I worked hard for, something my team and I built, something that was supported by the community. It also showed the power of representation. I want people — especially young people, especially people that come from similar communities that I come from, whether they are a woman, they’re black — to be like ‘If she could do that, imagine what I could do.’ That means everything to me.”
In addition to being a founder of multiple businesses, Oduok mentors for Girls Into VC, helping young women break into venture capital, and supports Black Girls Code, which teaches coding, AI, and tech careers to Black girls.
In 2023, less than 2% of VC funding went to women founders, according to a PitchBook report. Women of color have an even harder time securing funding, as Forbes reports.
“Initiatives like Girls Into VC, HBCUFI, HBCUvc, and Pharrell Williams’ “Black Ambition” are so necessary. I’m committed to opening those doors for people that come from diverse and overlooked communities, whether they aspire to be founders or work in the VC tech space,” Oduok shared with AFROTECH™.
Looking Ahead: From Better Futures To A Greener World
With funding from the HBCUFI 2025 Better Futures Competition, Oduok and her el powr team are now focused on their next milestone: securing clients and partners — particularly in the real estate, education, and sustainability sectors — while building out their minimum viable product. Recently accepted into Pharell Williams’ “So Ambitious Pre-Accelerator Program,” el powr is refining its model and continuing to scale its efforts.
Oduok credits her time at Techstars Alabama, an early-stage global accelerator and investor, with shaping the concept for el powr. She told AFROTECH™ that as an operations associate at Techstars she learned about the significant energy and climate challenges and opportunities in our society and gained valuable insights from her team, their corporate partner, Alabama Power, investors and the local community.
“We’re on a mission to save the world one building at a time,” Oduok said.
“But we can’t do it alone. Having the support of our community and partners is something that’s really important for us.”
From creating global communities to making Forbes history and winning third place at the HBCUFI 2025 Better Futures Competition, Oduok is an example of what happens when talent meets opportunity.
