 |
| | | Title | EVANS WADONGO: A SUCCESSFUL KENYAN YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR IN ENERGY INNOVATIONS | | Author | ACBF | | Subject | Entreprenurship | | Date of Publication | 2017059 | | Publisher | African Community of Practice on Management for Development result at the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) | | Number of Pages | 7 pages | | Language | English | | Geographical Coverage | Kenya | | Keywords | Energy Innovations, Solar Energy, Solar lamp innovation | | Abstract | resilience in the face of economic, social and environmental changes. Unfortunately, access to energy especially electricity is very low in African countries, impacting all development sectors. This case study featured Evans Wadongo who designed a low cost solar lamp named Mwangabora (good light in Swahili), set up a company, and elaborated a business model which succeeded though his main clients are low income households. Key findings: Young people across Africa are showing they are capable of driving Africa’s transformation through innovation. The story of Evans Wadongo is a good example of how well African people and its youthful population are innovating to fix African problems with local resources in critical sectors like energy. The case study shows that achievement of the Sustainable Energy Goal is possible but requires overcoming barriers including financing, affordability and enabling policies. Main lessons: Tax reduction policies are necessary to promote innovative social business models that target populations with low purchase power. Also, an integrated innovation stands a good chance to succeed in African contexts, hence the necessity to support local entrepreneurs through appropriate public policies. Finally, an integrated business model in a single sector (energy) can have positive impact on other sectors and issues like education, health and employment. It also has the potential to build the capacities of poor Africans by creating new economic opportunities to them. Key recommendations: Support to local innovators in Africa cannot be overemphasized. This requires appropriate investments, design and implementation of science, technology and innovation policies to train and equip young innovators. It is important that African governments and regional institutions establish the appropriate mechanisms and frameworks to leverage and scale up innovations that could drive Africa’s transformation. | | Copyright Holder | African Community of Practice (AfCoP) | | Copyright URL | http://www.acbf-pact.org | | Filesize | 710690 MB | | File Format | PDF | | [ View / download original document ] |
|
