Electricity not just illuminates rooms; it illuminates the future. In the short flicker of a single light, a child learns after dark and shakes off the shackles of poverty by learning. In the gentle hum of a proper grid, a hospital saves lives that would otherwise be lost to the night. Matthew Edevbie understands this in his very bones. For over three decades now, the Group Managing Director of Income Electrix Limited has fought quietly against darkness in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa, power plant by power plant, electrified village by electrified village, transmission line by transmission line.

His is not a story of a businessman who stumbled into wealth. It’s the story of a man who got called, literally biblical, and built an empire from heeding it. From his first stint as a young corps member to leading a diversified engineering company that builds 300-megawatt power facilities, Matthew remained true to one dream: lighting up the darkness. Income Electrix Limited now produces prepaid meters, sells electricity to millions over its networks, finances renewable energy projects, and consults on sustainable power solutions across the continent. And in all its newfound modernity, however, the firm remains close to the inspiration of its founder – that divine fiat uttered in the earliest glimmer of creation: “Let there be light.”

When Lightning Struck a Young Mind

Some people choose their careers. Others feel chosen by them. Matthew belongs to the latter category. His path into electrical engineering began with a philosophical awakening rooted in scripture. The opening verses of Genesis captivated him: God’s first creative act was to command light into existence. “Let there be light,” God said, and light appeared. This simple narrative struck Matthew with revelatory force. If God wanted the world lit up, then dedicating his life to electrical engineering meant participating in that divine intention.

He recognized that electrical energy represents the prerequisite for virtually everything modern society considers essential. Education falters without it. Healthcare suffers catastrophically. Commerce stagnates. Electrical power is the invisible foundation supporting socio-economic development. These weren’t abstract theories; they were urgent realities in Nigeria, where countless communities lived without electricity entirely.

His professional journey began in 1986 as a National Youth Service Corps member with Benue State Water Corporation, revamping water distribution networks in Idah, Kogi State. He discovered something crucial: he loved solving real problems for real people. After completing his service year, he joined Soko-Tech Nigeria Limited, a leading indigenous rural electrification company. Starting as a Trainee Engineer, his talent propelled him to Regional Manager for the Eastern Region within five years.

The projects during this period transformed communities and shaped Matthew’s purpose. His team electrified entire Isoko and Ndokwa Local Government Areas in Delta State, the Ifo-Akinsede Water Works in Ogun State, multiple communities in Akwa-Ibom State, and Ntrigom/Mfuma and Obubra Urban in Cross-River State. Each project reinforced his core belief- access to electricity fundamentally changes lives. He wasn’t just installing infrastructure; he was installing hope.

Building an Empire on Indigenous Excellence

By 1992, Matthew took the entrepreneurial leap that would define his life. He founded Income Electrix Limited with a clear mission: to create a truly indigenous electrical engineering firm that could deliver world-class solutions. He possessed clarity of purpose- building Income Electrix to prove that indigenous firms could deliver excellence and fulfil his calling of bringing light where darkness prevailed.

The Niger Delta Region provided Income Electrix’s proving ground. Environmental conditions destroy conventional electrical infrastructure with brutal efficiency. Acid rain corrodes materials, extreme humidity accelerates deterioration, and swampy terrain makes construction nightmarishly difficult. Matthew saw opportunity where others saw obstacles. His team became the first in Nigeria to introduce fibreglass cross arms, silicon insulators, and automatic splicing kits to overhead line construction. They developed entirely new methodologies for swampy terrains- techniques for securing poles in unstable soil and protecting equipment from moisture. These innovations gave Income Electrix a competitive advantage which no foreign contractor could easily replicate.

Under Matthew’s leadership, Income Electrix evolved into a full value chain electrical engineering powerhouse handling concept development, engineering design, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance, manufacturing, management, and consulting. Their EPC division stands as one of the few indigenous companies capable of building power plants up to 300 megawatts and transmission projects up to 330 kilovolts. The power division operates Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company and develops Independent Power Projects using thermal, solar, and small hydro sources. Their manufacturing division operates a prepaid electricity meter factory at Onna in Akwa-Ibom State, one of Nigeria’s biggest and best.

The consulting arm develops innovative solutions which others ignore. For the Niger Delta Development Commission, they created the Public, Private, Community, Oil & Gas Partnership model for providing sustainable electricity in off-grid areas. Most recently, Income Electrix pioneered energy spend reduction using the “lean, mean, green approach”- optimizing generation sources for least cost, ensuring efficient utilization, and deploying low energy-consuming products.

The Philosophy Behind the Success

Matthew’s leadership philosophy centers on leading from the front. He’s an electrical engineer running an electrical engineering company. “Have you heard the saying, ‘an engineer does it better’?” he asks. At Income Electrix, they do it better because the person setting direction understands both theory and reality.

Clear communication forms another cornerstone. He insists that if something cannot be communicated clearly, it cannot be executed properly. When challenges arise, Matthew teaches his teams a crucial framework: every problem has a domain of solutions, and within those exists an optimal solution where cost and functionality meet. He pushes teams to analyze all possibilities methodically, preventing premature convergence on suboptimal solutions.

Perhaps most remarkably, Matthew demonstrates exceptional strategic foresight. Two years before Nigeria announced power sector privatization, he foresaw it coming and positioned Income Electrix to acquire ownership stakes in successor companies. When privatization happened, Income Electrix captured opportunities while competitors scrambled. That’s leadership- seeing around corners and turning potential threats into decisive advantages.

Building a high-performance culture starts with recruitment. Income Electrix seeks “high-flyers”- brilliant young individuals with exceptional potential and a hunger to learn. The company exposes these engineers to real-world projects early with real responsibility. They encourage growth by rewarding successful performance with bigger responsibilities. Performance management measures what matters, layered with appropriate rewards and reprimands. Matthew builds trust through reliability and cultivates team spirit through empathic management and mentoring.

Many engineers who trained at Income Electrix have excelled in organizations across Nigeria and internationally. Matthew sees this as legacy multiplication- every trained engineer becomes another source of light, spreading excellence wherever they go.

Expanding Influence and Maintaining Balance

Matthew’s influence extends beyond Income Electrix. He serves as Managing Director of 4 Power Consortium. He leads Easy Pay International Limited, a fintech company addressing payment challenges in the utility space. He sits on the boards of PHED and several other power-related businesses. Managing governance across multiple organizations requires disciplined thinking. Matthew applies quantitative frameworks to decision-making, practices deliberate emotional detachment, and keeps each organization’s vision constantly in mind.

Despite extensive responsibilities, Matthew maintains balance through daily exercise, healthy eating, regular medical check-ups, and time with friends and family. This holistic approach enables sustained high performance across decades.

The energy sector evolves rapidly. Keeping Income Electrix at the forefront requires anticipating changes. The company employs scenario planning tools combined with rigorous research, monitoring government policies, competitor activities, emerging technologies, and customer trends. This environmental scanning feeds into a dynamic strategy reviewed annually, allowing Income Electrix to remain relevant despite constant change.

Wisdom for the Next Generation

After three decades of building businesses, Matthew offers guidance that cuts through conventional wisdom. Knowledge, he insists, represents humanity’s main competitive advantage. He urges young professionals to focus more on learning than on immediate compensation during career beginnings. Money follows competence inevitably, but competence must come first.

He recommends three specific practices: First, look for problems to solve through innovation. Second, build lasting quality relationships while solving those problems. Third, manage those relationships with absolute integrity. Build a good name. Technical skill might open doors, but character determines whether they stay open. These principles reflect Matthew’s own path and provide a roadmap tested in Nigeria’s demanding business environment.

A Legacy Written in Light

Looking ahead, Matthew has clear priorities for Income Electrix’s future. Having spent three decades mastering transmission, distribution, and retail aspects of the power value chain, the company has deepened its engagement in power generation solutions using diverse energy sources serving residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The lean, mean, green approach creates genuine win-win outcomes benefiting customers economically, utilities operationally, and the environment systemically. They’re expanding involvement with Industrial Energy Efficiency and Resource Efficient Cleaner Production solutions, positioning at the intersection of economic necessity and environmental responsibility.

When Matthew contemplates his legacy, he envisions impact along multiple dimensions. First, the sustained growth of Income Electrix itself, a business that will continue creating value long after his direct involvement ends. Second, the positive impact on industries and communities throughout Nigeria and Africa. Every village electrified, every utility operated, every innovation pioneered raises standards for everyone. Third, and most meaningful, the stellar achievements of people he has trained and mentored. Every engineer who learned at Income Electrix carries forward his values and commitment to excellence, multiplying his influence exponentially across generations.

His professional credentials reflect a lifetime devoted to excellence: Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and the Institute of Power Engineers, member of the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Fellow of the Institute of Directors, the Nigerian Institute of Management, and the Nigerian Institute of Management Consultants. His education includes a B.Eng. in Electrical/Electronics Engineering from the University of Benin and executive programs at the University of Coventry, IESE Business School, The Wharton School, Harvard’s Kennedy School and Business School, and Lagos Business School. This commitment to lifelong learning enabled his evolution from technical engineer to strategic business leader.

The Light That Keeps Spreading

Matthew’s story transcends personal achievement. It illuminates what becomes possible when vision, technical excellence, and unwavering commitment converge with a genuine desire to serve. In lighting up communities across Nigeria and beyond, he has proven that African solutions to African challenges can achieve world-class standards. His journey from that first modest project to commanding a diversified engineering group represents the realization of his early inspiration: “let there be light.”

But the light Matthew brings extends beyond electricity itself. It includes the light of knowledge shared with young engineers, the light of opportunity created in communities that never had reliable power, the light of innovation showing new possibilities, and the light of indigenous excellence proving African companies can compete globally. That biblical injunction continues guiding his work today. Through engineering excellence, visionary leadership, and persistent commitment to his calling, Matthew is making it happen- one project, one innovation, one trained engineer at a time.

The engineer who chases darkness has been running for three decades, and he shows no signs of slowing. There are still too many communities waiting for light, too many young engineers needing training, too many innovations waiting to be pioneered. For Matthew, the work continues because the calling remains. He aims to spread light in Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa.