Power the
Future
ABOUT
"In the 21st century, access to reliable, clean energy should not be a barrier to human or national potential.
Passionate about crafting solutions at the nexus of energy access, fin-tech and climate justice, Nthabi co-founded Easy Solar in 2016, a distributed renewable energy company operating in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Easy Solar has provided energy access to over one million people. The company has been recognised by TIME as a top global greentech company and by the Financial Times as one of Africa’s fastest-growing companies.
In 2024, Nthabi began a PhD at the Power Futures Lab at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. Her research focuses on how market design influences renewable energy investment in emerging and newly liberalised electricity markets. She has been recognised globally for her work and regularly speaks on the energy transition, market reform, and climate justice, including at the World Economic Forum (Davos), Skoll World Forum, and the UN Sustainable Energy for All Forum.
AWARDS
2025 TIME Global Greentech Leaders - Top 250
2023 Africa's Business Heroes - Top 10
2023/24 Top 10 Fastest Growing African Companies - FT
2022 Entrepreneur of the Year - Columbia University
2021 New Economy Catalyst - Bloomberg
2020 GenY Entrepreneur - Forbes Africa Women
2019 Social Entrepreneur of the Year - WEF / Schwab
2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Africa
2018 Quartz Africa Innovators
FEATURED BY
SPEAKING
Nthabi’s work combines over a decade of operational experience with rigorous academic research. Having co-founded and scaled a distributed renewable energy company in some of the most challenging last-mile contexts, she brings a practitioner’s perspective grounded in real-world constraints, complemented by her doctoral research on how market design and policy choices shape renewable energy investment in emerging wholesale markets.
She is a sought-after global speaker on energy access, climate finance, and the energy transition in Africa. She has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate, the UN Sustainable Energy for All Forum, and the Skoll World Forum. She holds a Master’s degree in Energy from Columbia University and a BSc in Finance from the University of Cape Town, both with distinction.
