So it was a real pleasure to invite CEIP’s Stewart Patrick back into the Virtual Studio to talk about the shape and influence of the BRICS, or BRICS+, as it is often referred to these days.Stewart Patrick is senior fellow and director of the Global Order and Institutions Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP). His primary …

I am pleased to welcome back into the virtual studio, Thomas Wright. After serving in the Biden National Security Council for a number of years, Tom has returned – to civilian life – at the Brookings Institution in Washington. I wanted to begin to explore with Tom his assessment of where US foreign policy is now that Donald Trump has begun in such …

Register for the Included VC Africa Reimagined: VC & Beyond Summit Join Diana Maranga, Head of Commercialization at Octavia Carbon, as she shares her unique journey from growing up inspired by environmental hero Professor Wangari Mathai to leading a pioneering direct air capture and storage company in Kenya. In this episode, Diana discusses Octavia…

US-China relations during the Biden administration was marked by growing competition and rivalry. Many of the aspects of US-China relations of the first Trump presidency were retained by the Biden administration. We have now returned to a second Trump administration. What are we likely to now see in US foreign policy under a second Trump presidency…

US-China relations during the Biden administration have been marked by competition and rivalry. Many of the aspects of US-China relations of the first Trump presidency were retained by the Biden administration. We have now returned to President Trump. What are we likely to see now in US foreign policy under a second Trump presidency; what will be U…

Season 3—The current state of global relations: An introduction by Alan Alexandroff by globalsummitryBy globalsummitry

In this episode, Ifechukwude 'Chude' Uwajeh, Managing Director of Blended Finance at GreenMax Capital Group, shares his professional journey from large-scale thermal power projects to clean energy advisory and fund management. He discusses the challenges of electrification in Africa, the importance of creative financing models, and the implementati…

Quick and casual check with the team behind the podcast on our plans for the year. Sign up for our newsletter (we have not yet changed the name): https://mailchi.mp/dc168bd41a97/sign-up-here

In this episode of The Energy Talk, we sit down with the CEO of Earthbond, Chidalu Onyenso, to explore the company’s innovative approach to solving Nigeria’s energy crisis through solar energy solutions tailored for SMEs. We explore Earthbond's mission, financing models, and the challenges of scaling renewable energy solutions in underserved region…

Twasiima Bigirwa in collaboration with Disrupt Development present to you, The ebyeshongoro Series. The series is inspired and drawn from Twasiima’s debut collection of poems titled ebyeshongoro bya Debra (songs of Debra). ebyeshongoro bya Debra is a collection of poems written in runyankore and english that chronicle the times we find ourselves in…

Dami Olawoye joins us as we explore his remarkable career as a finance veteran turned clean energy champion and his role in revolutionizing solar energy financing in Nigeria as the CEO of Payhippo. From a big four-chartered accountant to leading a startup, our guest shares how his organization has raised $5 million to tackle Nigeria's electricity c…

Twasiima Bigirwa in collaboration with Disrupt Development present to you, The ebyeshongoro Series. The series is inspired and drawn from Twasiima’s debut collection of poems titled ebyeshongoro bya Debra (songs of Debra). ebyeshongoro bya Debra is a collection of poems written in runyankore and english that chronicle the times we find ourselves in…

Twasiima Bigirwa in collaboration with Disrupt Development present to you, The ebyeshongoro Series. The series is inspired and drawn from Twasiima’s debut collection of poems titled ebyeshongoro bya Debra (songs of Debra). ebyeshongoro bya Debra is a collection of poems written in runyankore and english that chronicle the times we find ourselves in…

Subscribe to our Clean Energy Africa newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/dc168bd41a97/sign-up-hereRecorded live during the Energy Access Investment Forum in May, this 2 part mini-series covers the African Mini-Grid Program (AMP). The AMP is a USD 50 million country-led technical assistance program designed to stimulate the solar-battery mini-grids marke…

Twasiima Bigirwa in collaboration with Disrupt Development present to you, The ebyeshongoro Series. The series is inspired and drawn from Twasiima’s debut collection of poems titled ebyeshongoro bya Debra (songs of Debra). ebyeshongoro bya Debra is a collection of poems written in runyankore and english that chronicle the times we find ourselves in…

Twasiima Bigirwa in collaboration with Disrupt Development present to you, The ebyeshongoro Series. The series is inspired and drawn from Twasiima’s debut collection of poems titled ebyeshongoro bya Debra (songs of Debra). ebyeshongoro bya Debra is a collection of poems written in runyankore and english that chronicle the times we find ourselves in…

It is with great pleasure that I continued the conversation with my colleague Yves Tiberghien for this episode on ‘Shaking the Global Order’. After a short break I continued the discussion with Yves as to the current state of relations with the US and China. I was also able to extend our examination to include the impact of this competition on the …

It is with great pleasure that I have invited my colleague Yves Tiberghien back into the Virtual Studio for this episode on ‘Shaking the Global Order’. The US-China relationship has been marked by continuing competition and rivalry. So, I sat down again with Yves Tiberghien to examine what the current state of the US-China relationship is today whi…

Twasiima Bigirwa in collaboration with Disrupt Development present to you, The ebyeshongoro Series. The series is inspired and drawn from Twasiima’s debut collection of poems titled ebyeshongoro bya Debra (songs of Debra). ebyeshongoro bya Debra is a collection of poems written in runyankore and english that chronicle the times we find ourselves in…

Twasiima Bigirwa in collaboration with Disrupt Development present to you, The ebyeshongoro Series. The series is inspired and drawn from Twasiima’s debut collection of poems titled ebyeshongoro bya Debra (songs of Debra). ebyeshongoro bya Debra is a collection of poems written in runyankore and english that chronicle the times we find ourselves in…

Subscribe to our Clean Energy Africa newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/dc168bd41a97/sign-up-here InfraCo Africa is one of the few financiers that provides equity investments in large-scale infrastructure projects in Africa. Typically investing in projects in the early stages of their development, all the way through construction and operational stages…

It is with pleasure that I was able to invite my colleague Gregory T Chin into the Virtual Studio to discuss all matters related to the BRICS+. Greg has been an observer of the BRICS for some time, and its main institutional creation the New Development Bank (NDB).I was keen to explore the BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa now t…

Twasiima Bigirwa in collaboration with Disrupt Development present to you, The ebyeshongoro Series. The series is inspired and drawn from Twasiima’s debut collection of poems titled ebyeshongoro bya Debra (songs of Debra). ebyeshongoro bya Debra is a collection of poems written in runyankore and english that chronicle the times we find ourselves in…

Subscribe to our Clean Energy Africa newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/dc168bd41a97/sign-up-hereRecorded live during the Energy Access Investment Forum in May, this 2 part mini-series covers the African Mini-Grid Program (AMP). The AMP is a USD 50 million country-led technical assistance program designed to stimulate the solar-battery mini-grids marke…

It is with great pleasure that I welcome back into the Virtual Studio, Homi Kharas. I wanted to explore with him the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the halfway point for their completion. I was looking for his assessment of current progress especially after he, John W McArthur, and Odera Onyechi published a new Report at Brookings: “How…

Nico joins us this week to share from his two decades of experience deploying Decentralized Renewable Energy projects, consulting governments on off-grid electrification policy, and what the emerging trends mean for financiers looking into Sub-Saharan Africa.This episode has already been published on "The Mini-Grid Business" podcast hosted by Nico.…

Arnergy is a renewable energy company providing solar solutions to residential and commercial customers. Combined, Arnergy has raised $12M in a Series A and bridge round and is now gearing up for a big Series B fundraiser. In this episode, we speak with the company's CFO, James Fabola Jr., about operating in a difficult market and exciting growth o…

The US-China relationship has been marked by growing competition and rivalry. Nevertheless, the two have made efforts to stabilize the relationship notably with the meeting between Presidents Xi and Biden at the margins of the APEC Summit in San Francisco in 2023. More recently, the ministers of defense have met at the margins of the Shangri-La Dia…

It is with great pleasure that I have invited Elizabeth Sidiropoulos into the Virtual Studio for this episode of ‘Summit Dialogue’. With South Africa’s national and provincial elections just concluded and with South Africa about to take the Presidency of the G20 after the conclusion of Brazil’s hosting it seemed like an opportune moment to speak wi…

In this episode, we explore SolarAid's visionary work under CEO John Keane, aiming to deliver sustainable energy solutions to remote African communities. Focused on last mile areas, SolarAid's unique model tackles energy poverty while empowering communities with clean, affordable energy access. Through innovation and strategic partnerships, SolarAi…

So it was a real pleasure to invite CEIP’s Stewart Patrick back into the Virtual Studio to talk about this critical UN Summit – the Summit of the Future (SoTF). This Summit will take place this year on September 22nd -23rd. The effort leading to this Summit began with the 75th UN anniversary and the call for the Secretary General (SG) to prepare re…

In this episode, we speak to Mojola Ola, a Nigerian-based energy entrepreneur about how his company, GridCrux, is channeling its core ethos of value-add to democratize energy access for thousands of Nigerians. We delve into his roots, entrepreneurial journey, innovations, and failures in a bid to uncover what it takes to thrive as an energy entrepr…

It is with great pleasure that I have invited Feliciano de Sá Guimarães into the Virtual Studio for this episode of ‘Summit Dialogue’. Feliciano is currently the Academic Director and Senior Researcher at CEBRI. I hope, with Feliciano’s help to explore Brazil’s hosting of the G20. What designs and hopes does Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, or Lula as he…

Doing business in Nigeria is often fraught with challenges, especially on an operational scale amidst business models that involve cross-border transactions. In this episode, we speak to Justin Tinsey, the Vice President of Procurement, about Odyssey Energy Solution's innovative framework to de-risking procurement through its partnerships and syste…

Climate venture building is a concept that is not very common within sub-Saharan Africa. In this episode, we interview Tobias and Wairimu from Persistent Energy, a company deploying "persistent" financial and human resource capital to result in climate impact along energy, agriculture, mobility, and the circular economy. We talk about Persistent's …

It is with great pleasure that I have invited my colleague Bruce Jones into the Virtual Studio for this episode on ‘Shaking the Global Order’. ‘The US-China relationship has been marked by growing competition and rivalry but leaders did gather for a Xi-Biden Summit on November 15th that took place near San Francisco at the margin of the APEC Summit…

In the eighth and final episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Henok Assefa - Founder and Managing Partner at PRECISE, and Dr. Paul Yillia - COO and Technical Advisor, TENN to find out how policy design and finance go hand-hand in ensuring that farmers in rural communities can afford their energy needs fo…

It is with great pleasure that I have invited my colleague Yves Tiberghien back into the Virtual Studio for this episode on ‘Shaking the Global Order’. ‘The US-China relationship has been marked by growing competition and rivalry. This increasing tension seemed to reach a dramatic moment when a high-altitude balloon originating from China flew acro…

In the seventh episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Anshul Ojha - Founder and Principal anchor for the Desert Resource Center, and Ralph Roothaert - Principal Investigator – Veggies 4 Planet & People (V4P&P) Project and Country Director – of Kenya Eastern and Southern Africa (World Vegetable Center).…

In this episode, we discuss the intricacies of the landmark $10M partnership between Crossboundary Access (CBA) and Mobile Power–a partnership that promises to unlock energy access for over 300,000 people within Nigeria.By Lynne Wesonga, Luke Burras, Olubunmi Olajide, Chigozie Ubah

It is with great pleasure that I welcome back to the Virtual Studio, Homi Kharas. In September during the High-Level Week at the UN General Assembly heads of state and government gathered at the invitation of the Secretary General to examine at the halfway point the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I wanted to ge…

In the sixth episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Nirmita Chandrashekar a licensed architect and Senior Program Manager with SELCO Foundation in India, and Bijal Brahmbatt from the Mahila Housing Trust or MHT, a non-profit that was selected as a Women Changemakers India Fellow by Womanity Foundation. In…

In the fifth episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we continue our conversation from the last episode of the series joined by Shweta Narayan from the India-based NGO "Health Care Without Harm", and Shri Ram Kumar S, IAS - Project Director of the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project (MEGHSSP).…

The week of September 18th was the central week for UN activity – the High Level Week - with the opening of the 78 UNGA’s. Many Heads of State attended and there was a series of summits during the week including the High Level Panel Forum’s (HLPF) SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Summit, the Climate Ambition Summit and a ministerial gathering fo…

Donor-funded catalytic capital has been an integral part of the growth of the off-grid energy sector in Sub-Saharan Africa by de-risking new technologies and business models. David Arinze joins us in this episode to discuss the ecosystem impact and growth of projects funded by catalytic capital and how it is allowing organizations to scale enough t…

In the fourth episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Rachita Misra - Associate Director of Knowledge and Advocacy with SELCO Foundation in India, and Heather Adair-Rohani - Acting Head of Air Quality, Energy and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss the energy and health nexus. Focusing…

In the third episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Supriya Gowda - Project Manager of Agriculture for the SELCO Foundation, and Makena Ireri - former Director of Clean Energy Access Research at CLASP to discuss distributed energy for agriculture in the Global South, focusing on small-hold farmers in Indi…

In the second episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Ganesh Neelam-Director of Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI) and Huda Jaffer-Director of SELCO Foundation to discuss how improving access to clean affordable energy and energy efficient equipment & services is critical for small an…

In the first episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Harish Hande- founder of SELCO Foundation, and Gauri Singh- Deputy Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to discuss the important role that policy and innovation plays in ensuring equitable outcomes in the push towards SDG…

COP15 was designed to to agree on a new set of goals to guide global action through the next decade through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) post-2020 framework process to halt and reverse nature loss. Nature is critical to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. So I was happy to bri…