Meet Young African Change Makers at the EoF Assis Event

By Charlie Chilufya, S.J

More than a dozen young changemakers under the aegis of JENA are participating in the Economy of Francesco (EoF) 2022 event. The 22^nd to 24^th September 2022 event is the first in-person meeting for young people called by Pope Francis to give a soul to the economy and help create an economy that gives life rather than the current one that kills and alienates people from nature. The meeting will see young economic scholars, entrepreneurs, and changemakers, from more than 100 countries around the world, who have been actively working in these past months, along with new young people, who have a desire to contribute to a new season of economic thought and practice.
 
Meet one of Africa’s enterprising participants from Kenya, Africa, Carol Ofafa, a real changemaker for Africa. How is Carol using the wisdom of the Economy of Francesco to help build an alternative economy and help eradicate poverty in Africa?

Carol is the founder of E-Safiri, a Kenyan Start-up that aims to transform lives by developing solar powered charging stations for 2 & 3 wheeled vehicles. E-Safiri‘s goal is to help increase adoption of e-mobility solutions for commercial use, in an effort to reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector.
 
At a young age of only 34, Carol’s career and entrepreneurship drive is already positively impacting Kenya’s energy sector and uplifting lives from poverty. Carol is an Electrical and Electronic Engineer at the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO). On 18th December 2020 she was awarded the highest civilian award in Kenya, The Head of State Commendation (HSC) by H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta, for her role in the implementation and project management of the Suswa-Isinya 400kV transmission line, 132kV Kindaruma-Mwingi-Garissa line, her work in mentorship of women in energy, her contribution to the design of a thermal electric generator at the Engineers Without Borders UK Competition, 2018 that was intended for use by residents of Kibera, a low-income peri-urban unplanned residential area in Nairobi, home to almost a million urban poor,  to provide access to cheap and clean energy, and for her conceptual ideation of electric mobility charging infrastructure design at the Open Africa Power Fellowship, 2019. Read More about it in the Awards Page.