Registration open for MECS webinar on Results-Based Financing

Dr Carlos Sakyi-Nyarko is a Research Associate on the UK Aid (FCDO) funded Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) programme at the Sustainable Transitions: Energy, Environment, Resilience Centre (STEER), Loughborough University. Prior to joining MECS, Carlos worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher on the Financial Sector Development & Growth FCDO-ESRC Growth Research Programme, School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University. Carlos has previously consulted for the African Development Bank on rule-based governance, private and financial sector development issues in Africa, and also as a consultant for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (Ghana), where he conducted an impact assessment of Ghana’s Financial Sector Strategic Plan (FINSSP) II.

Peter Weston is the Director of Programmes at Energy 4 Impact, an NGO that aims to support livelihoods and alleviate poverty in Sub Saharan Africa through access to energy, including clean cooking. He has 25 years of experience working in the renewable energy sector, both in the NGO and private sector, with much of it being in Sub Saharan Africa. At E4I, he manages a team that provides technical, business and financial advice to SMEs and project developers active in off-grid energy in Africa. He also leads E4I’s work with MECS, including research on the funding landscape for clean cooking and in-country partnership services for MECS in Rwanda. He is a non-executive director of Thrive Renewables, a UK renewables firm, and a board member of Renewable World, another NGO. Prior to E4I, he held senior management positions at GE Capital and Siemens Wind Power. Peter has a BA in Economics and Politics from the University of Warwick.

Dr Susann Stritzke is a Senior Research Associate for the MECS programme at Loughborough University. She has previously worked at the University of Oxford where she was focused on studying the impact of RE initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa with a special focus on off-grid electrification. Prior to her engagement, Susann has gained profound professional experience as an International Account Manager for the Technology Sector at a global corporation. As Chief Group Coordinator for ndl renewables, an energy project development firm, she is also managing RE projects in Germany, South Africa and Zambia.

Malcolm Bricknell worked for many years at the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) where he was involved in structuring and managing financings of private sector developmental projects in mainly Sub-Saharan Africa. He has been involved with developmental initiatives linked to energy access and clean energy projects.  Malcolm was also actively involved in projects in the financial sector. These typically involved lines of credit channeling funds through local financial institutions to SMEs and micro entrepreneurs and supporting new institutions through founder equity investments  such as leasing companies, microfinance and housing finance companies aimed at deepening and broadening local capital markets. In his earlier career Malcolm worked in corporate finance arranging and executing different types of debt and equity transactions.  Malcolm has a degree in Government from the London School of Economics and a Masters of Business Administration from Manchester Business School. He is currently an International Liaison Manager for MECS mainly focusing on financial and capital markets issues. 

Donee Alexander is the Senior Director of Evidence and Impact for the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA). She leads CCA’s efforts related to environment/climate, air pollution, public health, standards, technology, fuels, and monitoring & evaluation. Prior to joining CCA, she was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Chicago where she managed a randomized controlled intervention trial evaluating household air pollution and pregnancy outcomes in Ibadan, Nigeria. She has over 15 years of experience evaluating the health effects of household air pollution in low-income countries. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in environmental engineering and has lived and worked in both Latin America and West Africa.

Peter George is the Senior Advisor, Private Sector & Investment at Clean Cooking Alliance, and Co-Managing Partner, Spark+ Africa Fund. Peter is responsible for the development of Spark+ Africa Fund, a first-of-its-kind debt and equity fund for the clean cooking sector in sub-Saharan Africa. Upon its launch, expected in Q4 2021, he will manage the 7-year, $50-70 million fund together with Enabling Qapital, a leading Swiss impact asset management firm. Peter’s career has spanned 15 years in impact investing, development finance, and private sector development in emerging markets, as well as investment banking, private equity, and project finance in the United States.

Kat Harrison is Director at 60 Decibels. She has 15 years experience developing and implementing M&E and impact measurement systems for impact investors, UN agencies, NGOs, and social enterprises; specialising in off-grid energy.

Ruth Kimani is an Associate for Clean Energy Access at CLASP and supports the administration of the Global LEAP Results Based Financing Mechanism for Off-grid appliances. Prior to joining CLASP, Ruth was involved in development work –with a focus on social work, environment, research and disaster risk reduction. She received her Master’s in Environmental Policy and Management from Lincoln University, New Zealand.

Bertha Okoyo is a Business Administrator with vast experience in Sales and Project Management. She currently serves as the Customer Experience Manager at Kudura Power East Africa, a Solar Minigrid Company based in Western Kenya.   

With close to a decade experience in working with village communities, Bertha has gained a dipper understanding of the rural energy demand and value added revenue generating services. Throughout the period, she has been able to design a long term and sustainable relations with Clients, continually enhancing the Client base and driving customer satisfaction.

Mattias Ohlson is co-founder and MD of the Emerging Cooking Solutions group. Educated at Harvard, with a diverse background ranging from ICT and Cradle to Cradle design to emergency medical aid (Doctors Without Borders). He lives in Zambia with his wife and business partner Marion since 2013. 

Ash Sharma is currently Senior Director, Head of Business Development at the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation and the programme director of the Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA). He is a climate & environmental finance, policy and investment specialist with over 30 years of experience in almost 60 countries, with a current focus on Africa. During 2016-18, he was seconded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Danida) as Senior Adviser to the NAMA Facility in Berlin. He has also held senior management positions up to Vice President level at Nefco and non-executive director roles in business and the third sector. Mr Sharma has served on various international climate change steering and working groups for Nordic Council of Ministers, UNEP, World Bank, G8 and G20 etc and has been an adviser to the European Commission, Innovate UK and the Climate Policy Initiative.

Mercy Kamau is the lead Community mobilizer for the SCODE RBF EPC project. Her job mainly entails strategizing and implementing technical community projects for SCODE. She has over ten years’ experience in designing community mobilization and Outreach programs for different (Renewable Energy Technologies) RETs and products.