Following the CHARGE Awards, we’ve been asking the Rising Stars in Energy to reveal their approach to branding in energy. In this article, we speak to Daniel Kitwa, Director, Energy Access Finance, Greenmax Capital Group
- Please tell us more about Greenmax Capital Group and your role
GreenMax is a specialized advisory and fund management firm focused exclusively on the clean energy sector in emerging markets. We have executed more than 200 consulting, USD 100M+ commercial & concessional asset management and capital raising mandates across 80 countries. My role involves leading capital deployment for our key investment vehicles into sub Saharan Africa as well as supporting in business development and strategic partnerships in the ecosystem. Of course I’m not a lone wolf as I have amazing colleagues and sector peers who I work with.
- What excites you most about the energy sector?
Energy is not only about the selling of electrons or kilowatt hours. It is about transforming lives and communities. I have seen first-hand how decentralized energy models have increased incomes, lowered business barriers and improved livelihoods in some of the remotest parts of Africa. While we are not there yet in terms of energy access, we are at a point of confluence where innovations such as smart grids, solar PV, e-mobility, energy efficiency, AI, smart phones & mobile money are maturing rapidly to continually drive down the marginal cost of energy. Thus I truly believe that it calls for all of us to double down and keep betting on the amazing energy entrepreneurs that are driving this change.
- What can the energy industry do to recruit more of the smartest minds and future leaders?
Usually the people who are already in the industry, if they are well treated they will sell the brand externally. In most cases these smart minds are people they already know and people would work with people that they see are aligned to the individual mission. Another issue is that leaders need to be aware that the smart minds might not necessarily be in our usual comfort zones, circles or eco chambers. For instance, they may not be alumni from your preferred business school, or from the energy sector or even visible on LinkedIn. Leaders have to be comfortable to design tools and approaches that do not over filter for these standardized metrics (not that there is anything wrong with them but mostly lean on preserving the status quo). One example could be well thought out fellowships and talent accelerators.
- What do you say when you were convincing colleagues to take branding/reputation seriously as an investable asset? Who do you need to convince?
Q1: A CV is what you tell the market you can do; a brand is what the market thinks you can do.
Q2: Mostly people who are technically gifted tend to overlook the soft skills where brand building is associated with
- What are the first 3 ingredients that go into a successful internal communications recipe?
Internal communication is first a by-product of culture. If an organization has an innovative and inclusive culture, the right conversations will start to emerge organically within teams. The second ingredient that’s necessary is to avoid having silos (generally easy to say but hard to implement). It is very easy for the marketing team to stay on one side while the finance or product people stay on the other side. This often leads to discussions or solutions that have singular perspectives. Well, the reality is that most problems we encounter in the work environment require a nuanced approach which you cannot get if you operate in silos. The third element is having a leadership team that communicates the vision clearly to everyone but also takes time to actively listen. The last point sounds cliché but truly everything rises and falls on leadership.
- If you were to capture the best communications advice that you’ve ever received as a 5-7 word presentation slide title what would that be?
Nothing beats a good story
- What are your hopes and aspirations for the future?
I hope to see a world where Africa is no longer a consumer of technologies but a net producer, exporter and active participant or leader in shaping the narrative on the 3 P’s i.e. people-profits-planet.
