Evans Wadongo (born 11 March 1986) is a Kenyan engineer, the co-founder of GreenWize Energy Ltd, the executive director and founder of
SDFA-Kenya, and one of
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
's top ten heroes of 2010. He is a graduate in electronic and computer engineering from the
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is a public university that is situated in Juja, 36 kilometres northeast of Nairobi, along the Nairobi-Thika SuperHighway, off Exit 15. .It offers courses in Technology, Engineering, ...
in Kenya.
Early life and education
Wadongo was born in the Western part of Kenya. Both his father and mother are teachers. He attended Manyonje and Bisunu Primary Schools, rural primary schools, where he walked over daily to reach the school. His home and school had no electricity, but he braved the odds to join Kakamega High School, where he managed to graduate with top marks, and was listed among the top 100 best students in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations of 2002. He later joined
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is a public university that is situated in Juja, 36 kilometres northeast of Nairobi, along the Nairobi-Thika SuperHighway, off Exit 15. .It offers courses in Technology, Engineering, ...
and graduated in July 2009 with a BSc (honors) in Electronics and Computer Engineering.
While at the university, Wadongo was an active member of the
Rotaract
Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth program in 1968 aCharlotte North Rotary Clubin Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, and has grown into a major organization of 10,680 (14 Sep 2022) clubs spread around the world and ...
Club (part of Rotary International), where he participated in various community initiatives, including the donation of clothes to children homes and street clean-up campaigns. He interned at Kenyatta National Hospital in 2006, at Metsec Ltd in 2007, and at UUNET Kenya (now MTN Business Kenya) in 2008.
Enterprises
Wadongo designed a solar lamp which he calls 'MwangaBora (Swahili for "Good Light")
in 2004 as a way to address poor education, climate change, health and poverty in rural areas in Kenya. Wadongo named the entire project 'Use Solar, Save Lives' as he aimed to use solar technology as a way to save lives in the poor communities he grew up in.
He later founded Sustainable Development For All-Kenya (SDFA-Kenya), a non-profit in 2006. SDFA-Kenya was officially registered in Kenya in June 2007 and its primary focus is environment, education and economic empowerment. Wadongo was the founding chairman. SDFA-Kenya adopted the 'Use Solar, Save Lives' programme as its main focus program as it combines the three aspects of education, environment, and economic empowerment.
SDFA-Kenya is now working in all regions in Kenya. In addition, it is now working in Malawi in partnership with Jacaranda Foundation. To date, SDFA-Kenya under the leadership of Mr. Wadongo has influenced directly hundreds of thousands of people and, indirectly, millions of others.
Apart from being the chairman of the organisation, Wadongo doubled up as a Project Manager from 2006 to 2008. From 2008 to July 2010, Wadongo was the chairman and Programs Director. He is currently the executive director and Chairman of SDFA-Kenya.
In July 2011, in response to the increased publicity from the international community, Wadongo launched Just One Lamp, a globally-focused campaign that raised funding and awareness for MwangaBora lamps. Wadongo is now expanding his effort beyond Kenya and bringing his model to other developing nations.
In 2013, Wadongo co-founded GreenWize Energy Limited, a for-profit social enterprise that designs and implements renewable energy solutions.
Awards and recognition
In recognition of his work in Kenya, Wadongo has received numerous awards and publicity from the international community over the past few years.
Wadongo was voted one of
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
's top ten heroes of 2010.
On 30 March 2011, Wadongo was named one of three recipients of the inaugural
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
Awards for "The Man Who Changed the World." His fellow inaugural recipients of this award were Sir
Tim Berners Lee
Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee (born 8 June 1955), also known as TimBL, is an English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web. He is a Professorial Fellow of Computer Science at the University of Oxford and a profess ...
, inventor of the World Wide Web and
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, cable news ch ...
, media mogul and founder of
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
. The ceremony, held in London, also celebrated Gorbachev's 80th birthday.
Wadongo won the Outstanding Social Entrepreneur in Africa at the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship held in
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
in 2013.
Wadongo was named Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the
Schwab Foundation
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a Swiss not-for-profit organization founded in 1998 that provides platforms at the country, regional and global levels to promote social entrepreneurship.Schwab Foundation for Social Entreprene ...
for 2011. The awards ceremony was held in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa, during the World Economic Forum for Africa. He was also among "20 Men Who Will Shape the Next 20 Years" by UK's
Esquire magazine
''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions.
Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under t ...
in 2011, and an Unreasonable Institute Fellow in 2011.
SDFA-Kenya is also a SEED award winner for 2011.
Wadongo was a finalist at the inaugural Innovation Prize for Africa held in Addis Ababa in 2012. He also received the African International Achievers Award in 2012.
Evans Wadongo and his story have been featured on
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
,
AFP,
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
,
China Central Television
China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...
, Reuters,
France 24
France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris. Its channels broadcast in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish and are aimed at the overseas market.
Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-M ...
, Discovery Channel, MBC South Korea, Deutsche Welle, German Radio, Russian State TV,
Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
among other international media channels. Locally in Kenya, Wadongo has been featured on KTN TV, K24 TV, NTV, KBC TV, Citizen TV, KISS FM Radio, Radio Jambo, Capital FM, Nation Newspaper, Standard Newspaper, The Star newspaper, The People newspaper, Parents Magazine, and Management Magazine.
Wadongo was named one of four torchbearers to represent Kenya during the
2012 London Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
Torch Relay.
Wadongo has been a speaker in schools, colleges and international conferences in many countries in Europe, Americas, Middle East, and Africa, including the
Global Entrepreneurship Summit
The Global Entrepreneurship Summit is an annual event organized by the federal government of the United States, in partnership with foreign government hosts. The summit originated from an event organized by the Obama Administration called the P ...
, African Development Forum, Clinton Global Initiative-University, African Union Youth Forum, Education Without Borders, LSE Africa Summit, among others.
In August 2013, Wadongo was named by
The Diplomatic Courier
''The Diplomatic Courier'' is an English-language global news and international affairs analysis magazine based in Washington, D.C. It publishes six print issues per year. Its focus is on developments in diplomacy, conflict resolution, internat ...
as a Top 99 under 33 Shaper, and on a list by
MIT Technology Review
''MIT Technology Review'' is a bimonthly magazine wholly owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and editorially independent of the university. It was founded in 1899 as ''The Technology Review'', and was re-launched without "The" in ...
of the Top 35 Innovators Under 35.
[Evans Wadongo Listed Among Top Global Innovators by MIT.]
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadongo, Evans
Living people
Kenyan engineers
1986 births