Henri Nyakarundi

Henri Nyakarundi is a native Rwandan who moved to the US in 1996 to study computer science. After graduation, he soon realized that a 9-5 was not his calling, and he was an entrepreneur at heart. Over the next 10 years he founded and developed trucking and construction businesses in both the US and Burundi. However, the green sector is his true passion. He has been developing ARED for the past three years, and as of 2013 has returned to Rwanda to startup this company full time. For over 10 years, Henri has been a well-respected voice on entrepreneurship in Africa, renewable energy, innovation & technology impact and more…. As a mentor, speaker, strategist on social entrepreneur in Africa, he was able to shed the light on some of the challenges in the African marketplace, but also the key solutions needed to solve some of the major challenges we encounter today as a continent such as unemployment, lack of access to energy, access to smart funding. Henri is a talented and engaging communicator who can cut through the myths and misunderstandings to provide clarity and perspective on what it means to be a green leader in business. He brings to his audiences a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing mainstream entrepreneurs on the ground as they try to build their own social enterprises in a way that drives bottom-line performance and top-line growth. His balanced, personal experience, and credible approach to green business and clean technology has offered a different perspective on the potential of product innovation and the impact it can have for the people and the key partners.