JAY PATEL
Social entrepreneur & consultant in off-grid solar and youth skill development in East Africa
ABOUT
Hi. I'm a social entrepreneur, consultant and speaker. After 5 years at Google in advertising sales, I was inspired to quit my job and move to Uganda, where I spent 4 years living and working on off-grid solar and youth skill development. I am a co-founder on two social enterprise startups: Enlight Institute, which provides solar recruitment, training, and assessment services for companies hiring rural youth, and Village Energy, which does last-mile solar distribution in off-grid communities. I am now based in New York but travel frequently to Africa and Europe. Whether you are interested in impact investing in Africa, off-grid solar, youth skill development, or finding your passion, I can help you.
CURRENT WORK
CO-FOUNDER & CEO, ENLIGHT INSTITUTE
Enlight Institute, founded in 2018, is a social enterprise startup focused on data-driven skill development for the off-grid solar industry, starting with solar technician and sales agent trainings in rural Uganda. We work with last-mile solar distributors across East Africa on solving their last-mile human capital needs through recruitment, training, and/or skill assessment services. Its founding funding partner is Signify Foundation (formerly Philips Lighting).
CO-FOUNDER, VILLAGE ENERGY
Village Energy, founded in 2008, is a Ugandan solar last-mile distributor focused on productive university, with 5 branches and 25 employees across Uganda. In 2017 it was the global winner of the Hogan Lovells Community Solar Innovation Awards, a 2015 SEED Africa winner, and has funding from USAID, Echoing Green, SPRING Accelerator, and UN Capital Development Fund.
CONSULTANCY SERVICES
EAST AFRICA: OFF-GRID SOLAR & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Over the last 4 years I've worked with USAID, GIZ, GOGLA, Energy4Impact, Acumen, and numerous other organizations on projects related to off-grid solar and solar trainings in East Africa.
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Over the last decade I have worked with Acumen, Ashoka, Spark, and New Sector Alliance on projects related to social entrepreneurship, leadership development and impact investing.
GOOGLE ADWORDS: SME DIGITAL MARKETING
Since 2010 I've worked individually with over one thousand SME advertisers on their digital marketing strategy, and continue to run digital marketing campaigns within my organizations.
