KOFI NKETSIA-TABIRI
Kofi Nketsia-Tabiri is the founding director and Chief Innovations Officer of Patient Capital Partners Ltd, a clean energy venture development and advisory company with offices in Ghana and South Africa. He supports entrepreneurs in the field to build their capacity to implement their businesses and also access finance. Kofi is also developing projects in the field to increase access to clean energy. PCP is presently developing a 2.5MW biomass gasification power plant in Mafia Island in Tanzania. Patient Capital is acting as advisor to Ngombeni Power Limited, the project developer.
Kofi Nketsia-Tabiri was the founding Director of Business Innovation at E+Co. From 2004 to 2009 he served as regional Manager of E+Co Africa and led the mentoring, hand-holding and financing of over 20 start-up and early stage clean technology companies in eight African countries.
E+Co is an organisation that aims to stimulate long-term, institutionalised channels of investment in environmentally superior forms of energy production and use in developing countries. Kofi oversees the investment and portfolio management of E+Co Africa's operations in eight countries across Africa. His responsibilities include developing overall strategic design, planning, and strategic partnerships for the sustainable extension of clean energy access in Africa.
He is an inaugural member of the Aspen Institute's Catto Fellowship Program and has served as a juror for the SEED initiative awards since 2006. Kofi holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Mechanical Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and a Master of Science in Corporate and International Finance from the University of Durham Business School.
Why Green Challenge?
"Despite huge resources for exploiting green technologies , Africa lags heavily behind global green technology investments compared to other developing and emerging markets. Most African governments have not responded to the 10% renewable energy target proposed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).
Being part of the Green Challenge jury gives me the opportunity to draw the attention of innovators and entrepreneurs that are interested in the Challenge towards Africa as a market place. It also affords me the opportunity to provide an African perspective to the jury and the collective judging process."
