Insurance & Guarantees in East Africa's Solar Market: Bridging the Gap

David Salzgeber is co-founder of EcoNetix and a driving force in the development of digital MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) solutions for the carbon market. With over 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, he has founded several successful companies, including Salzgeber IT Revolutions, which specializes in IT security for critical infrastructures. His expertise lies in software development, data analysis and the implementation of digital solutions for sustainability projects. A key milestone in his career was the development of @mydataplanet, a SaaS platform for data analysis in the areas of ESG, smart cities and carbon markets, which Econetix customers can use. His focus is on digital transformation and the creation of innovative solutions for the environmental sector. In 2021, a technology project took him to Uganda, where he met Jakob Zenz, the co-founder of EcoNetix. This encounter led to a strategic partnership, which was perfectly expanded in 2023 with the entry of Paul Nimmerfall. Together, they are driving the development of digital MRV solutions to set new standards for transparent, efficient and auditable carbon markets. With a strong focus on data-driven sustainability, David Salzgeber is instrumental in EcoNetix's mission: to improve the efficiency and trustworthiness of carbon markets through innovative digital solutions.

Jakob Zenz, 32, is a serial entrepreneur, honorary consul of Uganda to Austria, and a trusted presidential advisor. He has successfully founded and scaled multiple ventures across diverse industries. Founder and CEO of Econetix, an AI enabled global carbon credit asset manager, focusing on achieving net zero targets for countries and corporations globally.

Daniel Ndegwa is a seasoned development finance banker with extensive experience in private sector origination and development. He has structured, financed and closed landmark corporate and project finance transactions in the energy sector. Daniel is currently a Principal Investment Officer with the African Development Bank and is responsible for private sector coverage of the energy sector in East Africa.

Léo is Policy officer at Global Solar Council (GSC), the world's solar PV trade association. The organisation represents corporate members across the value chain as well as national, regional and international associations to accelerate solar deployment globally. He's in charge of steering the working groups on Finance and Grids, where the industry collectively decides on its priorities to ensure that solar is the main source of electricity by 2035. After a first experience in press relations, he worked for a year in an apprenticeship at the French Wind Energy Association, advocating for the offshore wind industry. Léo pursued two master's degrees: one from Sciences Po Toulouse in European Affairs and the second from Université Paris Cité in Energy & Society, providing him with a transversal academic background suited to tackle the complexity of the energy transition.

Voltalia is a fully integrated sustainable business model, energy producer and service provider. With more than 3,3 GW in operation and construction worldwide, Voltalia is significant player in South Africa, East Africa, Egypt. After 5 years in Voltalia as EMEA CFO working on the financing side, I am now the Country Manager for East Africa since 2023 where we are developing around 300MW of solar, wind and BESS project in the region

Mr. Ilyas is CPP's local representative based out of Dubai Office for MENA business operations. Bhami has over 15 years of Climate consulting experience during which he worked on iconic projects around the world including major Solar projects which include large utility scale solar projects in the region. Some of the notable projects in build environment includes Large Scale Solar Utility plants in India, U.A.E and other Solar Site-Specific Assessments in Africa. Further the UAE Pavilion @Expo 2020 with Santiago Calatrava, Address JBR, Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal in Mumbai, Lusail World Cup Stadium in Qatar as well as numerous other projects around the Middle East, South Asia region. He has developed his career towards technical client consulting. Bhami holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Aeronautics (Anna University) and has a Desautels Faculty of Management (McGill) executive certification in Business Management. An Advanced Management Program (AMP) certification from the American University Cairo (AUC), Egypt. He is an alumni of the McGill Executive Institute and School of Business - AUC. Bhami speaks four different languages which include Arabic, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam. He is a speaker at various conferences including at PV Tech Solar, Zak World of Facades and the Skyscraper Summits. CPP is world's leading climate engineering organization and a pioneer in wind effects research on Solar PV mounting systems. CPP is a contributing member for SEAOC PV2, CTBUH, ASCE and other wind engineering associations including AAWE.