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We had a great conversation with Pam Haigh, who is the UK General Manager at Ripple Africa.

Ripple Africa is a UK registered charity working to improve local environment, education and healthcare in Malawi, Africa. Operating at the grassroots level, involving the community in all aspects of its activity, Ripple Africa has over 690 staff and 12,000 people in Malawi working on projects on a part time, or voluntary basis.
 
These projects include fish conservation, fuel-efficient cookstoves, tree-planting and forest conservation, running and assisting eight pre-schools, supporting a community library, a disabilities and rehabilitation project and sexual health project, and more.

With over ten years of experience working at Ripple Africa, Pam shares her experience on what it takes to successfully manage a charity in Malawi.

The key themes we explore on this episode include:

• The environmental challenges facing rural communities in Malawi.
• How to roll out solutions and gain the buy-in from local communities and organisations.
• Are charities a sustainable form of assistance to local communities?
• How is Ripple Africa improving the lives of Malawians? 

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We had a great conversation with Nana Skari Maidugu, who is the Head of Sustainability and ESG at the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). 

At NSIA, Nana is responsible for developing and driving sustainability strategy & climate initiatives, as well as the implementation of its ESG framework across the Authority, its investments and partnerships.

With extensive experience in infrastructure investment, Nana shares her perspective on sustainable and impact investment in Nigeria

The key themes we explore on this episode include:

• The challenges of financing infrastructure such as inflation.
• Where does the money come from?
• How is NSIA leveraging climate finance for its projects?
• Why you should get into the ESG space in Africa. 

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*please find attached a copy of the NSIA Development Impact Report 2021

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We sat down with Emmanuel Ezenwere  the CEO of Arone, a company whose mission is to pioneer technologies that democratize access to basic amenities required to live a better life. 

Emmanuel is an entrepreneur with 8 years of experience building technologies that focus on the development of  unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)  and clean energy technologies. Arone looks to solve issues around access to electricity and healthcare within Nigeria, with a potential to scale to other developing economies.

Emmanuel’s work has been recognized and published nationally & internationally by the likes of Total Energies, Oxford Business Group (UK) & BusinessDay.

The key themes we explore on this episode include:

• The challenges of building a battery assembly plant in Nigeria.  
• Emmanuel's unfortunate encounter with a fraudster
• Arone's innovative battery solution 
• The opportunities for solar cell manufacturing in Africa

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*As at the time this episode was recorded, Arone was looking to raise startup funding. Please reach out to Emmanuel for further enquiries on this.

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We had a conversation with Nicholas Rawhani, the CEO of Vula, a company whose mission is to help African entrepreneurs secure funding for their business. 

Born and raised in South Africa, Nic tells us about his experience transitioning from the corporate world with McKinsey, where he worked to support green scale-ups in Africa, to leading a venture backed start up. 

The key themes we explore on this episode include:

• The challenges faced by African entrepreneurs in raising funding?
• Some tips that entrepreneurs can use to secure funding for their business.
• Nic's experience with Entrepreneur First and finding a co-founder.
• Vula's integrated software solution using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

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We had a conversation with Maryam Abdulkadir, an environmentalist who works with rural communities in Nigerian to reintroduce cultural medicinal practices. 

She is the founder of Plant Revival Enterprise, a social enterprise that replants native medicinal fruit trees and crops which have become endangered in specific communities in Nigeria. Plant Revival is known for creating the first botanical garden in northeastern Nigeria, on a hectare of land donated by Modibbo Adama University in Yola, Adamawa state.

The key themes we explore on this episode include:

• Environmentalism - why should you care?
• The dangers of deforestation on culture and identity.
• What are the challenges of running a social enterprise in a conflict-prone region in sub-saharan Africa.
• How do you differentiate between what people want and what they need.

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We had a conversation with Rahul Srinivasan, a Senior Energy Specialist at Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll), to explore the nexus between energy and healthcare in Africa.   

SEforAll is a United Nations partner organization that strives to accelerate access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy in developing countries, particularly in Africa and Asia. 

The key themes we explore on this episode include:

• The interdependencies between energy and healthcare in sub-saharan Africa.
• Around 15% of health facilities in sub-saharan Africa have no access to power. Why is this the case? 
• The 5-pillar approach to tackling this problem. 
• How you can be part of the solution.

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As the name suggests, your hosts Hassana, Joshua and Bolaji, reflected on the 8 episodes released so far. 

We highlighted where progress has been made and hinted on the direction of the podcast going forward. The nature of the conversation was more of a chat than a formal interview.

Finally, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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Can I use solar energy to power my business?

On this episode of Africa's Big Switch we had a conversation with Victor Tobenna Ezenwoko, the Chief Commercial Officer of Daystar Power, to explore commercial and industrial clean energy solutions in Africa. 

From steel manufacturers in Ghana to commercial banks in Nigeria, Daystar Power is committed to helping African businesses grow and develop by taking care of their power needs. In doing so, it aims to contribute to the clean and sustainable growth of African countries. 

Today, Daystar Power is present in four countries, runs over 300 power installations with an installed solar capacity of 32 MW, and has a team of 140 colleagues. [1]

The questions we explore on this episode include:

• Why are businesses making the switch from diesel generators to cleaner energy solutions? 
• What are some of the regulatory and supply chain issues faced with delivering clean power solutions in Africa? 
• Can solar power my air conditioner?

Have a listen!

[1] https://www.daystar-power.com/about-us

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Still on Nuclear Energy! But this time we take a deeper dive into the technology.

Have you heard of the Pebble Small Modular Reactor (PSMR)?

We spoke to Dr Trevor Dudley, the CEO of Mozweli Nuclear Engineering Limited on the role of nuclear energy in diversifying Africa's energy mix. Dr Trevor holds over 26 years of experience in the nuclear engineering and he is particularly involved in the development of nuclear pebble technology. He is also a member of the South African advisory committee that works with the IAEA and advises the government on nuclear affairs.

Some of the key questions we covered on this episode include:

• What role can nuclear energy play in Africa's economic development? 
• Should we be concerned about nuclear waste? 
• What should we be hopeful for in the future of nuclear energy in Africa? 

We hope you enjoy this! 

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