Abdul-W. Raaj, CEO, Suka Energy West Africa Location: Tamale, Ghana “People often ask me why we do everything – in, Africa there is no niche in solar energy” In Ghana in the eighties, around 40 schoolchildren in one class would burn kerosene lanterns, to be able to keep on studying after dark. Lanterns, some burning […]
Abdul-W. Raaj, Suka Energy West Africa – renewable energy entrepreneur Read More »
Raghuraman (Raghu) Chandrasekaran, Founder E-Hands Energy Location: Chennai, India “Who cares for the poor anyway?” Along the Himalayan border of India, site of the 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict, lie rural villages which Raghuraman Chandrasekaran has ventured into many times. The founder of E-Hands Energy, which brings hybrid solar and wind energy to rural Indian villages,
Raghu Chandrasekaran, E-Hands Energy – rural energy entrepreneur Read More »
Yonas Workie, Managing Director, Suntransfer Tech PLC Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia “You have to really find quality products in a market which can be unfair” Doing business in Ethiopia, which has a population of 100 million, has its challenges. 80% live in rural areas, and hydropower is the most popular energy source. Yonas Workie has
Yonas Workie, Suntransfer Tech PLC – solar home system entrepreneur Read More »
Luis Pazos and Robins Ocheng Odiyo, Co-founders, SV Graduate Research Forum – solar cooking in Kenya Location: Berkeley, California and Kilgiros/ Kericho, Kenya “Some people are still coming up to me, not believing that you can cook without fire” In Kenya, the famous staple ugali is made by steadily stirring cornflour into boiling water. The
Luis Pazos and Robins Ocheng Odiyo – solar cooking entrepreneurs in Kenya Read More »
Vishnu Raghunathan, CEO & Co-Founder, Lytyfy Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia “You have to really find quality products in a market which can be unfair.” After college, Vishnu Raghunathan and S. Deepak Kumar spent more than two years working for the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society, a government programme in India’s rural Bihar province. The experience
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We’re pleased to share with you the new Smart Villages “pocket guide” to rural energy and development! This pocket guide is intended as a quick reference to off-grid technologies, policies, and impacts – including stories of successful village energy projects from across the global south. For remote off-grid villages, local solutions are often both more
Smart Villages “Pocket Guide” to rural energy & development Read More »
[:en] On 11-12 September, the Low Carbon Energy for Development Network (LCEDN) held its annual conference on the topic of “Equity and Energy Justice” at Durham University, UK. As a follow-up to this conference, we’ll be holding two webinars (September and October 2017) to share highlights from the conference. This month, we’ll be joined by the conference’s
Webinar: Perspectives on energy justice Read More »
Tell us a bit about yourself My name is Jacqueline Proneth. I am a 24 year old woman from Tanzania studying for a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting at the University of Dar es Salaam. Meanwhile, I am in the process of registering a business with my partner Suleiman Mzungu which involved charcoal briquettes. What
Profile: Jacqueline Pronet, SUJA – clean cooking entrepreneur Read More »
What is your off-grid energy business? Can you give a brief overview? How long have you been working on this business? My off-grid business deals with production of charcoal briquettes with a brand name “Mukala”. We focus on production of clean cooking energy using agricultural waste materials like coconut husks, sugarcane husks, wood pieces, charcoal
Profile: Suleiman Mzungu, SUJA – East Africa Read More »
What are you currently working on? For how long? Can you give a brief overview? Still working on [TACODE (Tanzania Cow Dung Energy)] but up to right now there isn’t much progress – limited scope with UTT . Have recent undergone an exhibition in January at UDEC – worked on their prototype to refine their
Profile: Neema Igogo, Tacode – Energy Entrepreneur Read More »
James is an Industrial Chemistry graduate with entrepreneurship passion leaned towards renewable energy adoption among low income communities, energy management and environmental conservation. He is an alumnus of Cambridge Development Initiative, a program sponsored by Smart Villages. He is also recognized as Smart Village Ambassador by IEE Smart Village. James is the Co-founder of Chemolex
Profile: James Ogingo, Chemolex – East Africa Read More »
Brief biography I am an entrepreneur, marketer and sales trainer in Kenya. Since graduating from the university, I have passionately worked at Chemolex Company where I am a co-founder. I have developed the start up from an idea to the scale up phase where the company serves 400 households, 30 businesses and operates 5
Profile: Clifford Okoth – Chemolex – East Africa Read More »
What is your off-grid energy business? Can you give a brief overview? How long have you been working on this business? Gram Oorja electrifies un-electrified villages in remote areas of India using mini grids. Each home is provided a metered connection that can be used by the household for its electricity needs varying from lighting,
Profile: Sameer Nair – Gram Oorja – East Africa Read More »
What is your off-grid energy business? Manufacturing of portable bio-gas for generation of cooking energy and organic fertilizers. Can you give a brief overview? Lack of adequate cooking energy has been one of the major problems in the country. Many people utilize charcoal and firewood which is not an environmental friendly source of energy. However,
Profile: Tecla Mariwa – East Africa Read More »
What is your off-grid energy business? Portable biogas Can you give a brief overview? Portable biogas is a system that can be easily installed and used in households and institutions like schools, food vendors etc… system uses organic wastes such as food leftovers to generate a cooking gas, additionally the system has a purification system
Profile: Seni James – East Africa Read More »
What is your off-grid energy business? i. Drying fruits using solar oven ii. Solar power in the agricultural sector. Can you give a brief overview? i. In Tanzania there’s no fruit preserving factory, which means fruits gets destroyed easily by either for not being consumed for long time or by climatic conditions such as high
Profile: Samwel Baruti – East Africa Read More »
What is your off-grid energy business? My off grid energy business is to produce efficient stoves which will use briquettes and charcoal. Can you give a brief overview? The stove will have an adjustable plate which allows accommodation of different pan size in order to increase efficiency. Other additional features on the stove is
Profile: Nelson Maleko – East Africa Read More »
What is your off-grid energy business? My off-grid energy business is an efficient stove producing business known as Jensen Energy incorporated in collaboration with partners named Nelson Maleko and Senteu together with Elifadhili Shaidi. Can you give a brief overview? Our business incorporates at producing efficient cooking stoves that avoid the loss of heat plus
Profile: Mlamba John – East Africa Read More »
What is your off-grid energy business? My off-grid energy business idea is drying fruits and vegetables by using solar energy technology. Can you give a brief overview? The process will involve drying of fruits and vegetables by using a friendly energy which is solar energy, so as to tackle the problem of food wastage and
Profile: Mediana Ngosso – East Africa Read More »
What is your off-grid energy business? Production of efficient stoves Can you give a brief overview? These stoves will use normal charcoals or briquettes in low amount since, in the way they constructed will preserve heat loss What inspired you to start working in off-grid energy? Are there any key people who inspired you to
Profile: Makondose Senteu – East Africa Read More »