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Fenix reaches 500,000 customers in 6 markets, announces new leadership team
Fenix International, a company of ENGIE, offering Solar Home Systems across Africa has appointed co-founder and current COO Brian Warshawsky to the role of CEO
KAMPALA, Uganda, July 19, 2019 – Brian Warshawsky, co-founder and current COO of Fenix to succeed the current CEO, Lyndsay Handler.
Jit Bhattacharya, CTO and Chris Bagnall, Group Marketing Director, step down from the company with successions plans in place. New CFO appointed and Head of Credit position established alongside new Chief Commercial Officer, Junior Zerebela Kwebiiha within executive team.
Fenix International https://www.FenixIntl.com/ , a company of ENGIE, offering Solar Home Systems across Africa has appointed co-founder and current COO Brian Warshawsky to the role of CEO to drive the next phase of the company’s ambitious growth plans. Warshawsky is succeeding Lyndsay Handler who has been with the company for 7 years and served as CEO since 2016. Warshawsky is well-placed to lead the company, having previously spent 5 years at Apple as part of the iPod Operations team before co-founding Fenix International in 2009. Having worked as COO with Fenix from inception, Brian has a deep understanding of the business from product design to manufacturing, country operations, distribution and last-mile customer experience.
Ivan Topalov, who previously served as Corporate Finance Director has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer following the departure of the previous CFO, Josh Romisher, in June. The company has also appointed a new Head of Customer Credit, Alison Boess, reporting to the CEO.
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Yoven Moorooven, CEO of ENGIE Africa, said, “Brian is a highly regarded leader with the right mix of skills and experience to lead this new chapter for Fenix as we continue to establish ourselves as the market leader across Africa. With commercial operations in Uganda, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Benin and Mozambique, Fenix is growing from strength to strength. Under Brian’s leadership I’m incredibly excited for the future of our decentralized energy offering in Africa.”
He continued, “I join everyone at ENGIE and the Fenix team in thanking Lyndsay, Jit and Chris for their many years of dedicated service and commitment to the Fenix Mission. Under their leadership, Fenix transformed millions of lives across the continent and built an inspiring team that is driven to succeed.”
Brian Warshawsky, newly appointed CEO commented, “While it is difficult to say goodbye to such incredible colleagues and collaborators through so many years, I’m proud to be able to continue their legacy. On behalf of the Fenix team I would like to thank Jit for his technology leadership and the work he did to build Fenix Power, our next generation solar home system platform. I would like to thank Chris for his commercial and marketing leadership as Fenix grew from a few customers in Uganda to 500,000 customers across 6 countries in Africa. And I would like to especially thank Lyndsay for leading Fenix through so many milestones, most recently the ENGIE acquisition and establishing Fenix as the strongest off-grid solar home system company in the industry.”
He added, “Backed by a world class product, a world class team and with the full support of ENGIE, I am excited for what we will do to take our life changing product to customers across the continent. We are now set for an exciting future as we continue our expansion across Africa and achieving universal energy access for all.”
Lyndsay Handler added, “Building Fenix from 2011 to 2017 and accelerating our growth following the acquisition by ENGIE in 2018 has truly been an honour. Together, we have delivered clean, affordable energy to over 500,000 households or 2.5 million people in six countries across Africa. I am especially proud of the way we built a passionate Fenix team based in Africa who are deeply committed to our mission, values, and customers. Looking ahead, I am happy to pass the torch to our co-founder Brian and I am confident that the entire team will put the customer first in all that we do in Fenix’s next chapter. I hope that Fenix will continue to create new products and drive forward innovation so that clean energy is affordable to all at the last mile.”
Credit: Fenix International
Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award (Image: Supplied).
Since its inception in 1972, the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award has established the platform as the ultimate accolade highlighting female founders and CEO’s globally. Esteemed for honouring female pioneers who embody the spirit of Madame Clicquot, this award has two categories, the Bold Woman Award and the Bold Future Award, which highlight and give visibility to innovative women around the world. This is the first and longest-running international award of its kind and South African female business leaders and entrepreneurs looking to elevate their businesses and join a community of like-minded trailblazers are invited to enter from 18 March 2024.
Over 52 years, the award has celebrated women who exemplify the same tenacious, enterprising spirit of the Grande Dame of Champagne, Madame Clicquot. Widowed at the age of 27 in 1805, she defied norms and transformed an entire industry – an extraordinary feat during an era when women faced significant limitations, unable even to establish personal bank accounts, let alone independently own or manage businesses. The Bold Woman Award is a powerful tribute to women who share her fearlessness and determination. Open to women in 27 countries, the award has honoured over 450 businesswomen to date. Not only does it applaud their leadership, but also provides laureates with prominence, a powerful platform and access to an inspiring global community.
The award’s impact is invaluable, and these Bold women in turn inspire and motivate future generations of female leaders. The South African edition of the 2023 Bold by Veuve Clicquot Barometer reveals that 72% of aspiring women entrepreneurs are inspired by, and can name, a local female role model. This finding underscores the vital role of the Bold by Veuve Clicquot programme, which sets out to fortify a sustainable future for businesswomen globally through impactful initiatives that inspire mentorship and collaboration. The data for the 2023 Bold by Veuve Clicquot Barometer was collated from over 49,000 women and men surveyed in 25 countries, contributing to a powerful overview of female entrepreneurship globally.
One initiative that sets out to amplify the Bold Programme and fosters global female networking is Veuve Clicquot’s Bold Open Database, a collaborative database catalysing social and economic development. South African women seeking to connect with fellow female entrepreneurs across the globe are invited to register Here.
The women who step into the Bold Woman Award spotlight pay tribute to the legacy of Madame Clicquot and play a vital role in inspiring future generations of female entrepreneurs. South African women who are ready to be recognized for their business achievements are called to enter the 2024 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award.
HOW TO ENTER
To enter the Bold Woman Award, candidates must be founders or CEOs of a company for more than three years, have demonstrated transformation and evolution in their field, and supported growth for at least two years while maintaining an ethical approach to business.
To qualify for the Bold Future Award, candidates must be the founders or CEOs of a company that has been in existence for less than three years. In that time, the candidate must have made a significant contribution to the success of their company by instilling a sense of entrepreneurship and have made a tangible contribution to transformation in an existing market, while bringing ethical change to the company.
Three finalists in each category will be selected by an esteemed jury and will be invited to attend the Bold Woman Award ceremony on 17 July where one laureate in each of the categories will be lauded by a grand jury. The Bold Woman Award winner will travel to Reims, France, for an immersion in the history, tradition, and luxury of Maison Veuve Clicquot.
Entries open on 18 March and close on 30 April 2024. Business leaders and role models who are ready to be recognised for their remarkable success are invited to enter the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award by completing a simple form Here.
Applicants must be an official resident of South Africa and the business must be based in or operating in South Africa. The finalists will be selected by an independent panel of judges.
Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) Chief Executive Officer, Thierno Habib Hann, has presented his credentials to Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya and Foreign & Diaspora Affairs Minister of Kenya, H.E Dr. Musalia Mudavadi.
In a formal ceremony held at the Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya’s office in Nairobi, Mr. Hann conveyed Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s commitment to enhancing its collaboration with the Government of Kenya in addressing the pressing challenges of affordable housing and urban development in the country and across Africa.
Mr. Hann highlighted the organization’s commitment to sustaining its impactful efforts in Kenya, particularly in advancing affordable housing programs. Mr. Hann reiterated Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s dedication to supporting Kenya’s housing agenda with a particular focus on housing programs that seek to address key thematic areas of climate financing, gender, migrants, refugees, and the diaspora.
“We enjoy a great relationship with the Government of Kenya, being Kenya Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s largest shareholder and we are looking forward to scaling up projects that are in line with the visionary economic development agenda – Kenya Vision 2030. We extend our gratitude to the Government of Kenya for their enduring confidence in our institution and for hosting ShafDB’s Headquarters for the last 42 years,” stated Mr. Hann.
He further conveyed Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s readiness to collaborate closely with Kenyan authorities in implementing innovative solutions aimed at expediting the provision of quality, affordable housing, and associated infrastructure and urban development across the nation.
Welcoming Mr. Hann and accepting his appointment, Prime Cabinet Secretary Honorable Musalia Mudavadi, commended Shelter Afrique Development Bank for its ongoing transformation and continued commitment to Kenya and further Africa’s development priorities, highlighting the organization’s valuable contributions to the region’s housing sector over the years.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and N Gage Consulting signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance implementation of the AfCFTA within Africa, with a focus on North Africa and Arabic speaking countries as well as harness the potential of the AfCFTA through targeted outreach towards positive impact in Africa. The MoU was sealed by the AfCFTA Secretary General, H.E. Mr. Wamkele Mene and Mr. Karim Refaat, Chairman of N Gage Consulting and Dr. Sherif Fahmy, CEO.
The was established as an effort to eliminate trade barriers among African countries with the aim of creating a single market size of 1.3 billion people with a combined annual GDP of $3.4 trillion. As the largest free trade area in the world, the AfCFTA is expected to increase intra-African trade and promote regional economic integration of Africa and, as a result, contribute to the sustainable economic and social development of the continent through the creation of employment opportunities and the reduction of poverty.
Pursuant to the MoU, the two parties commit to strengthen cooperation and promote concrete activities in areas of conducting webinars, tailor effective roundtable sessions, public-private dialogues and to develop a series of monthly newsletters to disseminate relevant information through social media platforms with the aim of raising awareness of business and governments on the AfCFTA, its objectives and showcasing AfCFTA’s Guided Trade Initiative and its role in powering trade among members states.
Additionally, the collaboration will facilitate the preparation for the AfCFTA Business Forum and The Intra African Trade Fair (IATF) and the execution of different capacity building programs for the member states in order to leverage the AfCFTA to boost intra-African trade and utilise Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects to support investment in infrastructure.
The MoU is expected to promote the AfCFTA as a trade liberalisation instrument and sustainable development enabler and accelerator as well as enhance intra-African trade as an engine for economic diversification and industrialisation.
As one of the leading companies operating in the area of government relations and public policy in the MENA region, N Gage Consulting is committed to support the AfCFTA and will deploy all the necessary resources to strengthen and expand cooperation with the AfCFTA Secretariat to enhance African trade integration.
In addition to her impressive legal background, Rosemond has cultivated a niche expertise in the tech startup ecosystem. She has consistently provided comprehensive consulting, due diligence, and investor readiness services to numerous companies in the tech sector.
