We deliver world-class solutions for electric utilities in developing markets
What we do
3.5 billion people across the world live without reliable electricity access. Our simple plug-and-play solution enables microgrids and distribution utilities operating in hard-to-reach places to improve their operations and help them achieve financial sustainability through a range of features like flexible billing, customer communications and remote monitoring and control.
25+
Countries Sold to
4
Continents Represented on the Executive team
150,000+
meters Sold
Our mission & values
We envision a world where all people have access to clean, reliable and affordable electricity. In order to get there, we focus on our core value of opportunity: the opportunity for under-served communities to be free and empowered. Our mission is to increase access to electricity in under-served communities - it is electricity and the services derived from it that unlock and create those opportunities. SparkMeter seeks to increase energy access and energy quality across the world. Our technology transforms utilities from enterprises with unreliable operations, negative cash flow, and credit unworthiness to enterprises that are sustainable, provide high quality of service and can take on outside investment to continue their operations and connect new users to their grids. In turn, utilities can provide reliable power to their customers, increase electricity access and invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency in their systems.
We operate on these values:
Be a pioneer
Listen to understand
Act together
Grow capability
Take responsibility
We believe technology can rapidly expand energy access in emerging markets and make the world a more equitable place
Our people
Dan Schnitzer, Ph.D
CEO, Co-founder
About Dan
Dan has ten years experience in smart grid & rural electrification, and received his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University with a focus on electricity access. Before founding SparkMeter, he founded EarthSpark International, a microgrid developer in Haiti.
Salman Ahmed
CFO
About Salman
Salman has 20+ years global power and utilities sector experience. Prior to joining SparkMeter he worked for The AES Corporation where he has held numerous leadership positions. He grew up in Pakistan and has worked and lived in Central Asia, Europe and USA. He is a CPA and Chartered Global Management Accountant. Salman likes to explore the world with his family & friends, read and listen to music.
Ryan Karp
COO
About Ryan
For the past 20 years Ryan has been a team leader for various industrial technology OEMs, including, Wind Power, Aerospace, Industrial PC and Additive Manufacturing. Previously Ryan has been a part of multiple VC funded start ups and a Global $3B entity and has lead teams in Asia, the US and Europe. In addition, Ryan speaks Manadarin Chinese, is an international trade expert and SixSigma Blackbelt. Ryan likes to play guitar and is currently in an 80's cover band.
Arthur Jacquiau-Chamski
Principal Solutions Engineer, Co-founder
About Arthur
Arthur has close to 15 years of energy sector experience with both utilities and microgrids. Following his Engineering degree (signal processing) from CentraleSupelec, he managed R&D projects at Engie, targeted on optimization of transportation network operations. In 2013, he joined the US non-profit EarthSpark International to design and manage the first 24/7 solar-based microgrid in Haiti, and the same year cofounded SparkMeter. He’s been living in the Washington, DC area since 2015.
Nai Phasay
Principal Hardware Engineer, Co-founder
About Nai
Nai has twenty years experience in electronic design/development for industrial, commercial, and consumer markets. He was born in Vientiane, Laos and grew up in Northern Virginia. Nai likes hiking, partly for the exercise, partly to see and identify plants, animals, and fungus.
Tristan Escalada
Principal Engineer, Co-founder
About Tristan
Tristan has two decades of professional software development experience. He started volunteering with EarthSpark in 2011, and co-founded SparkMeter the following year. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, and has a cabin in Vermont where he gets to play with all forms of engineering.
Wendy van Thiel
Director of Product
About Wendy
Wendy van Thiel has over a decade of experience in the utilities and in product development. After her masters degree in Artificial Intelligence, she started as a developer, matured in consultancy and found her passion in product management. Wendy likes to punch during kickboxing, stretch during yoga times and spent her weekends mainly outdoors.
Morayo Osiyemi
Director of Utility Business Development
About Morayo
With over 20 years’ experience working in the technology space across diverse industries including energy, health and banking, Morayo now calls the power sector home working with a broad section of power sector stakeholders in emerging economies to bring enabling technologies to utilities. She hopes to see an increase in the participation of women in the power sector. Morayo is a “techie” at heart, loves travelling and a good coffee.
Patrick Nkombua
Director of Microgrid Business Development
About Patrick
Patrick has 10+ years of global energy sector experience. Prior to joining SparkMeter he held various sales and business development roles in Africa, working for ABB, Aberdare and Honeywell. Patrick is an Electrical Engineer and is completing his Masters in Business Administration (MBA). He is passionate about the circular economy, emerging markets & technology and in developing the African energy sector. Patrick enjoys vintage cars and outdoor adventures especially off-road trails and likes to travel with his family.
Marcelle Huizenga
Director of Technical Product and Customer Experience
About Marcelle
Marcelle has a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia. Before joining SparkMeter, Marcelle worked on product management, development, and design at a startup. Marcelle was born and raised in DC and she is half Peruvian. She loves hot chocolate and live music.
Winfridah Mwongera
Supply Chain Manager
About Winnie
Winfridah has over 8 years experience in Logistics and Procurement, She holds a MSc. in Procurement & Logistics. Before joining SparkMeter Winfridah worked on project logistics at PowerGen Renewable Energy EA. Winfridah enjoys hiking and the great outdoors.
Dan Bungey
Technical Compliance Manager
About Dan
Dan Bungey has extensive experience in the fields of smart metering, renewable energy and energy management. Prior to Joining SparkMeter, Dan worked in a number of energy projects in the C&I and Microgrid spaces across Africa. He holds a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He is also a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) with the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), Atlanta, USA. AEE named him the Young Energy Professional Sub-Saharan Africa in 2018. In his free time, Dan loves to travel, read and run.
Sam Padreddii
Marketing Manager
About Sam
Sam has been working in the clean energy and sustainability space for over 5 years. She's done marketing and communications for solar developers, nonprofits, activist groups, and political campaigns. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Strategic Communications from the University of Miami. In her free time, she likes running outside, doing yoga and hanging out with her pals in the sun.
Michael Isika
Market Manager
About Michael
Michael has Sales and Account Management experience in solar PV and cookstove manufacturers, PAYG software providers, telecoms and last mile distributors in Subsaharan Africa. lastly at Angaza. He is currently completing his thesis for an MBA in Strategic Management. When he is not working Michael loves travelling and spending time with his family.
Chinedum Ekechukwu
Market Manager
About Chinedum
Chinedum is an astute business professional with a sound technical background and a flare for improving processes. He has over 12 years experience spanning across the Power & Utilities and Manufacturing industries, providing B2B support in Account Management, Sales and Technical role capacities. He has an MSc in Electrical Engineering from Karlstad University, Sweden. Prior joining SparkMeter, he worked with ABB in the capacity of Account Manager supporting distributor Channel Partners in Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon. In his spare time, Chinedum would either see a movie, play golf, and throw some shots on the court. He loves traveling and spending time with his family
Kenneth Katieche
Market Manager
About Kenneth
Before Joining sparkMeter, I held account management and sales support roles with global players in the energy market space. I am currently pursuing an MSC in Environmental Legislation & Management and I am very passionate about technologies that help protect the environment. During my free time I like to spend time with my family, Watching soccer and traveling.
Rida Zahra
Finance Manager
About Rida
Rida has over 8 years experience in public accounting and global oil & gas sector. Her experience includes accounting, auditing, financial reporting, local and international compliance for entities incorporated in Pakistan, Netherlands, UK and Cayman Islands. Prior to joining SparkMeter, she worked 5 years for PricewaterhouseCoopers and 3 years for a UK based global oil & gas company. She is pursuing her Chartered Accountant license. She enjoys playing competitive multiplayer games, dancing, spending time with family.
Simon Wandanda
Product Expert
About Simon
Simon holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from The Technical University of Kenya. Prior to joining SparkMeter, Simon worked for micro-grid developers in different capacities where he managed the construction of mini-grids in Eastern Africa. Simon is a big fan of Tiqui-taca football and loves watching FC Barcelona.
Caroline Wahu
Product Expert
About Caroline
Caroline has a Bachelor's degree in Business and Information Technology and has five years of Customer Support experience. She was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, and she loves traveling and adventure!
Moses Njoroge
Product Expert
About Moses
Moses has experience in technical support and client relationship both in IT and in the microgrid sector. Before Joining SparkMeter, Moses worked for PowerGen Renewable Energy leading various projects. Moses holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology from Multimedia University of Kenya. During his free time, Moses likes having coffee with friends.
Dan Rice
Senior Infrastructure Engineer
About Dan
Dan has extensive experience delivering SaaS solutions to electric utilities and building the cloud platforms to do so at scale. While he calls DC home, he is a Pennsylvanian at heart. Dan loves fixing things, spending time outdoors, and eating good fruit.
Mike Waud
Senior Software Engineer
About Mike
Mike started his career designing power and safety systems for weather balloons but then got distracted by a few mobile, health, and IoT startups. He's happy to return to his roots building reliable devices that can handle challenging conditions. Mike's interests include American economic history, Montreal-style bagels, and his bocce team's W/L record.
Aru Sahni
Senior Software Engineer
About Aru
Aru acquired a love for computing from an early age when he taught himself to modify the BASIC games on his first computer. Over the past decade, he has developed solutions to make government agile, more efficient, and open, and is excited to tackle the challenge of energy access. When he's not using Vim, Aru enjoys spending time with his dog, Motley, attending concerts, and sampling craft beer.
Parangat Shukla
Senior Product Support Engineer
About Parangat
Parangat joined SparkMeter after receiving his Master of Science degree from Carnegie Mellon University, where he focused on decision-making in the energy sector. Born and raised in India, he worked at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) before moving to the US in 2016. He spends most of his free time hiking, traveling, and teaching people how to pronounce his name.
Martin Wagner
Solutions Engineer
About Martin
Martin has 8 years of experience in power and renewable energy systems. He joined us at SparkMeter after completing his Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University, where he developed a power system simulator based on circuit simulation algorithms. Before that, he worked on improving thermal imaging of PV modules with the Austrian Institute of Technology. Martin is a snowboarding instructor and passionate windsurfer.
Lydia Bartilol
Purchasing and Logistics Specialist
About Lydia
Lydia has experience in Demand and Supply Planning, Procurement and Logistics management. Prior to joining SparkMeter, she worked with Bidcoro Africa Limited and Nestle'. She holds a bachelors degree in Procurement and supply chain management from the University of Nairobi. Lydia spends free time trying out new recipes, reading and giving back to the society.
Joan Ngoizi
Office Administrator
About Joan
Joan has 2 years experience in client relationship management, admin and Underwriting. Previously, I worked for Optimus Insurance Agency Mombasa. Also, worked for community radio and TV stations in Kenya. Holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronic media (first class honours) from Mount Kenya University. During my free time, I love planning events, hiking and instructing Aerobic classes.
Christopher Mutua
Operations & Admin Specialist
About Chris
Christopher is an enthusiastic professional with an experience of over 6+yrs in admin/ inventory operations. He has a track record of successfully managing inventory control processes and procedures, aimed at optimizing activities and maintaining service level agreements with internal and external business partners. Prior to joining SparkMeter, Chris has worked with Achievo ltd(k) & Naivas ltd(k) Nairobi & Mombasa branches for over 6 years in loss control department as an inventory control admin. I hold a BA in business information technology from MKU & a diploma in business administration (ICM) from Regional Centre of Management. CHRIS loves to explore the world with his family, read, geek out and drink coffee.