Nigerian Consortium Buys Into E1 Electric Powerboat Series for 2027 Season
Team PRONC co-founders Cecil Hammond and Richie Shittu, Preye Berezi, Osahon Okunbo and Ndy Oruche with Alejandro Agag, Founder and Chairman. Image by E1 Series
A group of Nigerian entrepreneurs and investors has acquired a team in the UIM E1 World Championship, the all-electric powerboat series backed by Formula E founder Alejandro Agag, marking one of the more prominent Nigerian ownership entries into an international motorsport property.
The team, Team PRONC, signed its entry during E1's Monaco race weekend at the Yacht Club de Monaco, according to a statement. It becomes the latest addition to a grid whose ownership roster is heavily weighted toward celebrity investors, including LeBron James, Tom Brady, Rafael Nadal, Didier Drogba and Virat Kohli.
The founding group includes Rich Hospitality's Cecil Hammond and Richie Shittu, alongside Preye Berezi, Osahon Okunbo and Ndy Oruche - a lineup drawn largely from hospitality and private members' club operations rather than motorsport. The team said it plans to position itself at the intersection of racing, entertainment and hospitality, and to announce a celebrity partner, its pilots, technical programme and RaceBird livery in the coming months.
Financial terms of the entry were not disclosed.
The move deepens Nigeria's footprint in a series it already knows well. Lagos joined the E1 calendar in October 2025 and has since become an established stop on the championship's calendar. With Team PRONC, the country shifts from staging the championship to holding equity in it - a progression from host market to ownership stake that few African sports properties have made in a global series.
E1, sanctioned by the Union Internationale Motonautique, races its electric RaceBird craft on circuits in cities including Monaco, Lake Como, Jeddah, Lagos and Miami, and pairs the competition with a marine-conservation platform. Each team is required to field both a male and a female pilot, a rule the series uses to distinguish itself on gender parity.
For the founders, the entry is a bet on Africa's growing cultural export power translating into sports-business value.
"Team PRONC represents what can happen when ambitious people come together around a shared vision," Hammond said. "This is bigger than motorsport. It's an opportunity to showcase African innovation, creativity and excellence on one of the world's biggest sporting platforms while creating something future generations can be proud of."
Shittu framed the move as a representation play:
"We've built this team through partnership and a belief that Africa deserves greater representation in global sport. E1 gives us an incredible platform to combine technology, sustainability, business and culture while competing at the very highest level."
"PRONC demonstrates what collaboration can achieve," Berezi said. "Each partner brings different strengths and perspectives, and together we're building something that can compete internationally while opening new opportunities for African businesses and talent."
Okunbo pointed to the commercial interest. "This is about building a sustainable organisation with global ambitions," he said. "We want Team PRONC to become a respected sporting brand that creates commercial value while positively representing Nigeria and Africa around the world."
"Sport has an incredible ability to unite people across borders," Oruche said. "Team PRONC allows us to tell a positive African story through innovation, teamwork and excellence while contributing to one of the most exciting new championships in world sport."
Founder and Chairman of E1 Series - Agag said the addition supports E1's expansion strategy: "Having Cecil Hammond and Richie Shittu joining the Championship next year connects our vision for global expansion and innovation with a wider base in Africa."
Team PRONC will begin preparations for its inaugural 2027 season.
