Dear YPE London members and friends,
Access to reliable, clean and affordable energy is critical for the development of any country, but even more so for the less advanced ones. For instance, it is estimated that the economic costs of power outages for Sub-Saharan countries typically range between 1 and 4 percent of gross domestic product. In these countries, infrastructure problems, incl. deficient power generation and transmission infrastructure issues, account for 30 to 60 percent of overall drains on firm productivity, well ahead of red tape or corruption.
A clear example of the importance of electricity is illustrated on the picture below, where students have no other choice but to do their homework in the street, as they have no light at home.
In other words, if we wish to improve the lives of the citizens in the developing markets, it is paramount to focus on the energy sector there. As young professionals active in this critical industry, we ought to understand the challenges as well as the opportunities in these markets.
For that reason, our next event at the London Business School on 31 May will feature two speakers who will shed some light on these matters.
We are truly delighted and excited to have had the opportunity to hear:
Mansoor Hamayun is the CEO of BBOXX, a company that manufactures and distributes home solar systems that allow households in the most remote places to have access to electricity. Mansoor is a living example of what young, daring and creative professionals can achieve with their business skills to have a powerful social impact.
Dr Harald Heubaum is Assistant Professor in Global Energy and Climate Policy at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). His research focuses on energy and climate policy and innovation in global energy governance among others. He will present to us some key challenges that emerging markets face when it comes to improving their energy infrastructure.
Thank you very much to the London Business School, and more specifically its Energy Club, for hosting us.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
M ansoor Hamayun
Mansoor Hamayun is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of BBOXX, a dynamic young company that designs, manufactures, distributes and finances innovative solar systems to improve access to energy across Africa and the developing world. Since 2010, BBOXX has sold 60,000 solar kits and impacted 300,000 lives across 40 countries.
Born in 1988 in Pakistan, he was raised in Sweden and studied Electrical Engineering at Imperial College London. From 2008-2010 he was the founder and leader of a student charity, e.quinox, which brought electricity to 6 villages in Rwanda. Following university, Mansoor worked as a manager for Rolls-Royce Civil Aviation business, supporting the introduction of Boeing 787 Dreamliner for LAN airlines, working on corporate cost reduction in the Asian region service and overhaul business.
As CEO, Mansoor leads BBOXX in all aspects of its business – from its engineering lab in London to its factory in China, to distribution from it 25 local shops in Kenya and Rwanda.
Mansoor is a Pakistan-Swedish national with fluent English, Swedish and Urdu. He resides in London.
Harald Heubaum
Dr Harald Heubaum is Assistant Professor in Global Energy and Climate Policy at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy (CISD) at SOAS, University of London. His research focuses on energy and climate policy in the Asia-Pacific and Europe, institutional change and innovation in global energy governance, low-carbon cities and urban resource management, and low-carbon finance and investment in developing countries. He convenes CISD’s MSc degree in Global Energy and Climate Policy, and is a Member of the Centre on the Politics of Energy Security (CEPES) at SOAS.
Dr Heubaum is currently working on a book manuscript on global energy and climate governance architectures (Routledge) and a journal article on electricity market design and low-carbon policy levers. His latest published work is entitled “Integrating global energy and climate governance: The changing role of the International Energy Agency”.
