Globally, 789 million people - 1 out of 10 - do not have access to electricity to light their homes, refrigerate their food, or keep cool in rising temperatures. The majority of these people live in the Global South.

In this panel discussion we explore innovations, business models, successes and failures from disruptive companies trying to tackle one of the most pressing issues today, energy poverty. We will also look at key issues involving financing of microgrid projects in developing regions, and how this figures into these efforts.

Key Takeaways:

• Latest trends in electrifying rural communities in the Global South (South America, Africa, Developing Asia)
• Recent case studies with success lessons learned from tackling energy poverty in developing communities
• The state of financing for microgrid initiatives in the Global South, and best strategies on how to move forward

Panelists:


Arnaud is heading the Gommyr team and brings more than 10 year experience in the renewable energy field. He was previously managing the Piraeus Clean Energy fund, investing in renewable energy projects in South East Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean region, and working as a manager with McKinsey in the energy, renewables and climate change sectors across Europe and Africa. Arnaud has also worked as an engineer and manager with a number of start-ups in the high tech sector in Canada. Arnaud holds a BEng in Electrical Engineering from McGill University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Drew Lebowitz
Energy Access Team Lead, Energy Storage Engineering
DNV

Drew Lebowitz, P.E. leads the Energy Access team at DNV, a leading independent engineering advisory firm based in Norway. The team is part of the Energy Storage department and provides IE advisory and Owner's Engineering to mini-grids, utility-scale PV and Wind, and grid-strengthening projects throughout emerging markets. A professional engineer in the state of Oregon, Drew has worked for 7 years in Haiti and Panama where he ran a solar EPC firm and worked as a mini-grid developer. Drew is based in Portland OR and is an expert on mini-grid finance, solar-diesel hybrid grid design, and energy storage.

Lucia Kamati
International Business Development Senior Manager
Africa GreenTec

Lucia Kamati believes that access to electricity and gender inclusion is key to socio-economic growth. As a TEDx speaker, she gained vast experience from working on projects in Germany, France, Italy and Namibia. She is currently developing a number of energy projects, at Africa GreenTec with the aim to enhance socio-economic opportunities for rural communities.

Laura Corcoran
Chief Business Development Officer
Aptech Africa

Laura Corcoran is a partner and the Chief Business Development Officer at Aptech Africa Ltd, an EPC company working in solar energy and water pumping across seven African countries. She has been working with Aptech Africa in quality management, strategic development, and capacity building for the past six years, and has been working in project management in Uganda for the past 14 years. Laura has a MA in Intercultural Youth and Family Development and a MSc in Nursing and is happy to be a part of a company that is actively working to increase access to clean electricity and water across the continent.

Bernie Jones
CEO
Smart Villages Research Group
LinkedIN Profile

Martijn Veen
Global Head of Energy
SNV

Martijn is an expert in development cooperation, renewable energy market development, natural resource management and environmental planning. He has +20 years of professional experience, particularly across Africa and Latin America, seeking synergies and innovative solutions in complex multi-stakeholder processes.

Currently, Martijn heads SNV's Global Energy Team, overseeing a portfolio of clean energy projects across Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia (total portfolio size: EUR 100+ million). He is involved in the design, inception and strategic oversight of energy access and market development programmes of SNV globally. His experience includes private sector-driven mechanisms supporting off-grid energy access, as well as innovative solutions to overcome barriers to investment.

Martijn's track-record includes the design and implementation of early-stage grants, Results Based Financing (RBF) and Technical Assistance facilities to de-risk commercial investment and catalyse private sector delivery of energy access. Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) solutions in agriculture are an increasing part of SNV's portfolio, contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

William Brent
Chief Marketing Officer
Husk Power Systems

William joined Husk Power after more than five years as the Chief Campaign Officer at Power for All, an NGO focused on energy access, where he oversaw strategic partnerships, branding and communications and various campaigns focused on minigrids and their role in job creation, agricultural productivity and healthcare provision. Previously, he spent a decade starting and building the cleantech and climate solutions practice at global PR firm Weber Shandwick. William has been on the steering committee of the Mini Grid Partnership since 2018, and has also been an active member of the Sustainable Development Goal 7 Technical Advisory Group, among many other industry affiliations.