Jury
SAMEER HAJEE
Co-founder of Nuru Energy
NORTH AMERICA
SAMEER HAJEE
Sameer Hajee is the co-founder of Nuru Energy, an international social enterprise that provides low-power electricity and lighting solutions to the 1 billion people in developing countries who live below the poverty line and are disconnected from the electricity grid. As a leading authority on rural energy provision through micro-enterprise, Sameer has been invited to speak at various international conferences, including the World Economic Forum, Clinton Global Initiative Summit and UN Private Sector Forum among others.
Sameer has received numerous personal awards for his work including the McMaster University Arch Award for Outstanding Young Alumni, Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Africa by the Schwab Foundation/World Economic Forum and the INSEAD Alumni Force for Good Award.
Prior to his work in resource-constrained markets, Sameer worked as a microprocessor design engineer in Silicon Valley, California and as a telecom engineer for Afghanistan’s first mobile phone network provider, Roshan, in Kabul.
Sameer has an Electrical Engineering degree from McMaster University in Canada and an MBA from INSEAD.
ABOUT NURU ENERGY
Nuru Energy is an international social enterprise that provides low-power electricity and lighting solutions to the 1 billion people in developing countries who live below the poverty line and are disconnected from the electricity grid.
Nuru Energy has won over 20 global awards and has been covered by CNN, Forbes, Fortune Magazine, BusinessWeek, BBC Africa, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, Hindustan Times and the Jakarta Post to name a few. Nuru Energy was selected by CNBC World as one of the “Top 10 Ideas to Change the World”.