I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Leroy Nyangani the co-founder and Team Lead at Need Energy, a SADC (but Zim-born) startup that was selected for the Techstars Equinor Accelerator. This makes it only the second startup with a Zimbabwean founder to be selected for a US-based accelerator. The only other startup is Afriblocks which has Zim's very own Tongayi Choto as a co-founder.

On this episode we talked about:

• What is Need Energy as a startup and its origins
• Why Need Energy is "betting the farm" on smart meters
• How the startup is using data to create renewable energy markets at the end of the grid
• The way Need Energy's platform allows Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to sell energy to end users

• How it created Zimbabwe's first Virtual Energy Grid
• Need Energy's work with traditional gas and electricity providers to create a smart energy mix for its SADC markets

• The future of Renewables in Africa and the world over
• What this opportunity means to Need Energy as it scales

Techstars Equinor Announcement: https://www.techstars.com/newsroom/announcing-the-2023-equinor-and-techstars-energy-accelerator-class

Need Energy's website: https://www.needenergy.io/

Leroy Nyangani's LinkedIn: https://zw.linkedin.com/in/leroy-t-nyangani

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