Nico Tyabji, Director of Strategic Partnerships, SunFunder Location: US, East Africa “As a financial intermediary for the off-grid solar sector, we’ve grown alongside companies” Since it launched as a specialist debt financier for the off-grid solar sector in 2012, SunFunder has improved energy access for 2.9 million people. Co-founders Ryan Levinson and Audrey Desiderato lead the …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
What is your off-grid energy business? Our business dries food, such as fruit and vegetables, using solar energy, in order to preserve post-harvest food. Can you give a brief overview? The business mainly deals with drying product by using solar energy. We provide services to farmers and training to customers so as to make them …
What is your off-grid energy business? The business is the production of affordable efficient stoves which uses less fuel to produce more heat. Can you give a brief overview? The problem we identified is that most stoves produced locally dissipate large amounts of heat to the surroundings, do not focus the energy to the pan, …
The third annual East Africa Energy Innovation Challenge took place in summer 2017. With the application and screening process fully handed over the CDI for a sustainable continuation of the programme, the Cambridge Development Initiative (https://cambridgedevelopment.wordpress.com/) (CDI) selected 11 individuals out of over 200 applicants for the programme. The eleven aspiring entrepreneurs developed ideas for …
Marc Zedler, Project Manager, Connected Solar Market Centers (CSMC), Solarkiosk Location: Berlin, Germany and across Africa “Focus on a core group of entrepreneurs who engage with the community” For Marc Zedler, there is a bigger picture at Solarkiosk, a German solar company operating in multiple African countries. Having a service which provides rural communities with …
Interview with Boston Nyer BURN General Manager, Kenya Location: Kenya “The next step is to get more sustainable fuels into people’s homes”. “The whole impetus is to save trees,” explains Boston Nyer, BURN’s general manager in Kenya. In East Africa, 60% of deforestation is driven by the need for wood and charcoal for cooking. “Our …
“Jikokoa”: Scaling up clean cookstoves and providing local jobs Read More »
Interview with Ned Tozun Co-founder, d.light, a for-profit social enterprise based in China, India, East Africa, and the USA Location: Nairobi, Kenya “Now that the technology has evolved, we want to provide more holistic energy solutions”. After studying and working in engineering, Tozun knew he was “wired” for entrepreneurship. He started “a couple of companies” …