Startup|Energy has been supporting African startups in the field of decentralised renewable energies since 2019. A new programme is now targeting a often neglected group of people: innovators from universities.

The 1. Clean Energy Bootcamp brings together 12 innovators from four universities in Uganda, Kenya and Germany to collaborate in workshops to further develop their CleanTech innovations. The Bootcamp, which is unique in this form, will take place in Nairobi from 10 to 15 April. The twelve participants in the Bootcamp were selected from a large number of promising applications by local juries. These are the participating universities: Kenyatta University (Nairobi), Mount Kenya University (Thika), Makerere University Business School (Kampala) and University of Freiburg (Germany).

During the Bootcamp, participants not only receive important training on how to develop their idea into a profitable business model, but also meet four local energy startups: DropAccess, Zuhura Solutions, Kiri EV and TryKe. The discussion with the founders of these startups – all of whom have successfully completed the Startup|Energy accelerator programme – provides an opportunity to learn more about the requirements for setting up an energy startup, not just in theory, but in a practical “reality check”.

The Bootcamp will conclude with a public event at Kenyatta University on Monday, 15 April: after the innovators’ pitch, startups, investors and entrepreneurs will discuss opportunities and challenges for clean energy startups in East Africa in a panel discussion with experienced guests.

Learn more about the initiative Startup|Energy.

The Bootcamp is funded by the “Stiftung Entwicklungszusammenarbeit Baden-Württemberg (SEZ)