From Pilots to Pathways: Founder Lessons from Testing Smart Energy Business Models Across Africa, a new publication brings together experiences from enterprises participating in the Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) project. Through case studies from Malawi, Nigeria and Kenya, the publication looks at how entrepreneurs adjusted their products, payment models and costumer approaches as they learned what worked in practice.
The publication highlights experiences from entrepreneurs’ journeys, including the importance of flexible financing, reliable services, trust and a realistic understanding of the operational costs involved in growth. The publication does not offer a universal model for scaling. Instead, it shares practical and honest insights that other African founders and entrepreneurs can draw on when developing their own pathways towards sustainable growth.
The findings and learning from the publications will be discussed with a broader audience at the webinar, “From Pilots to Pathways: Entrepreneurial Lessons from Africa’s Smart Energy Sector” on October 15, 2026 at 14:00 CEST.
The panelists:
- Vincenzo Lorusso, European Commission
- Brian Andaje, We! Hub Limited, Kenya
- Okey Esse, CEO, Powerstove Nigeria
- Magdalena Sikorowska, ICLEI European Secretariat, Brussels
Moderated by Lakshmi Bhamidipati, UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre and Elisabeth Biber, Senior Project Manager, Siemens Stiftung, Dr. Nina Smidt, CEO and Spokesperson of the Board, Siemens Stiftung will deliver the opening remarks.
“Over four years of working together through SESA, we learned a great deal from the entrepreneurs as they tested their solutions, listened to their customers’ feedback and adapted their businesses. Some of the most useful insights came from things that did not work as expected and the hard decisions that followed. With this webinar, we want to share those experiences and give other entrepreneurs space to reflect on what these learnings could mean for their own enterprises,” Elisabeth Biber.
