It’s been about four years since I’ve been in Africa, which
feels like such a long time, and a lot has happened since then. From the time
when I last wrote a blog post, I’ve completed two masters degrees, worked in
federal consulting, adopted the best furry friend a girl could ask for, made a
career jump to the private sector, spent a year and a half working for an
energy management company in Pittsburgh, and as of two weeks ago, secured a
transfer with said energy management company to spend the next year in Johannesburg,
South Africa.
But before we get to that.. I feel like I have some ‘splaining
to do…
I get asked a lot about my circuitous career path and
seemingly uncharacteristic life decision to join the private sector. And while it’s
easy to brush off the question and say nonprofits and student debt don’t mix, the
truth is much more complicated.
While I loved the nonprofit I was working for, and still
believe in their mission, I found that the international development model of
work in general, as I knew it, to be unsustainable, and, well…to be frank…wasteful
in a lot of ways. I won’t bore you with granting structures and cycles, or
business development models, but in a nutshell after 5 years working for nonprofits I came to four broad conclusions:
1) more effort and money is put towards winning work, than doing work; 2) a lot
of impacts a project creates are eroded by the constant 3-5 year turnover that
granting cycles create; 3) the amount of corruption in international
development is disheartening; and finally 4) economic development cannot happen
without the private sector.
Now don’t get mad, I’m not saying there aren’t nonprofits
doing good work, because there DEFINITELY are. I think nonprofits have made significant
improvements around the world in health, education, and human rights, and have
successfully responded to a number of humanitarian crises. But. If the goal is economic
development (which leads to poverty reduction, catalyzes better health and education,
etc) I think little advancement can be
made without the private sector. Yes, there’s waste and corruption in the
private sector too, and not all companies are created equal for sure, but, I think
business done ethically has the ability to create a broader and more sustainable
impact in developing countries. And impact has always been my motivation. Maybe
I’ll prove myself wrong in a few years and need to come up with a new plan, but
for now, that is the theory I am exploring.
Rewind two years. Out of grad school, I was looking for a
large company with a global footprint that would have diverse opportunities to
help me figure out where I belong in the private sector. Several companies fit
the bill, but I joined this company specifically because of their hard stance
on ethics, and doing business correctly. And although I’ve always been more
interested in the international side of business, I took this job with the
assumption that I would need to put in a few years, gain some experience, and
then start pushing for an international assignment. But by connecting with the
right people at the right time, and to be honest, some sheer force of will, I
have found myself with this international opportunity only a year and a half
later. Huzzah!
So what am I doing here? Well that’s the best part of this
story. I found a private sector job that leverages my international development
past.
There’s this hot new trend in the energy world called a
Microgrid, which is essentially just what it sounds like – a smaller electrical
grid – but its typically self-contained, smarter, and more efficient than the
traditional utility grid. Microgrids have a central control system giving it the
ability to pull power from multiple sources, one of which is usually a
renewable source generated onsite (such as solar or wind) and another is
usually battery storage. To put it plainly, a microgrid determines which source
of energy is most cost-effective and efficient at any given time and switches
power sources to optimize the system. Microgrids can even operate independent
of the utility grid power supply, called islanding, so if the utility loses
power, you still don’t. The microgrid will just pull power from a different
source.
 |
| Basic Microgrid Diagram |
Why does this matter? Well, for one, it’s estimated that 1.3
billion people around the world lack access to electricity, and more than 600
million of those, or nearly 50%, are in sub-Saharan Africa. Microgrids have the
power (no pun intended) to bring electricity to communities not connected to
the traditional grid. Two, the existing electrical grid in Africa is both
limited, and unreliable. Here, microgrids can ensure consistent supply of
electricity at lower costs.
Think about the human impacts here. What happens at a
hospital if the power goes out? How many medicines spoil? How many procedures
cannot be performed because equipment is down? What happens when a school loses
power? Can kids learn and study in the dark? How much productivity is lost at a
business when there’s no electricity? I myself experienced this one first hand
in Ghana, when the power would go out for up to 12 hours or more at a time. How
much work can be done without a computer? I know what you’re thinking.. DUH,
get a generator. Well, my friend, fuel for generators is expensive, and they’re
horrible for the environment.
Enter, the Microgrid. A solution even better suited for
Africa because of that glorious sunshine. Clean, reliable, cost-effective
energy. Voila!
So my mission down here in Johannesburg? You guessed it. Marketing
microgrid solutions. How am I doing so far? Have I sold you on the benefits? As
you can tell, I’m a believer. And what makes this job so perfect for me, is
that development banks and agencies have caught on to this energy trend, and there’s
a lot of interest in funding microgrid projects. So it’s a great mix of my past
and present, and it will be very interesting to engage with agencies I knew
before from a totally different angle. So there you have it. A private sector
approach and solution to an international development challenge that has
potentially broad and sustainable impacts. Win – win – win.
Now that I’ve bared my soul a little, enough with the boring
stuff. Let’s talk about South Africa!
This is not like Africa I’ve known before… its... so… fancy? I knew before moving here that Southern Africa in general is more developed
than West and Central, but it’s been even more pleasantly surprising than I’d
thought. First things I noticed: working street lights, accurate road signs and
street names, no hawkers (people trying to sell you things) in the streets, no
open sewers, drinkable tap water, and malls everywhere. Yes, malls. Now I do want to asterisk the
above comments, because I’m in a major city and have only seen the nicer
neighborhoods, so I don’t know what the rest of the city and country will
bring. Those are merely my first observations. Also it's cold. Not Pittsburgh cold, but cold nonetheless. Weird to have winter in July and August...
But, back to the malls. I've been here for two weeks, and I've been to five different malls, which is unlike me as I'm not much of a shopper, but the malls are where everything happens. Normal stores like clothing, jewelry, and housewares, but also grocery stores and pharmacies - really anything you could possibly need. And we're not talking strip malls, here, I mean fancy malls. For example, I was extremely taken aback to find myself
in the corner of the Sandton City Mall where in one wing there is a Louis
Vuitton, Armani, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Prada, Burberry, Gucci, Jimmy Choo,
and Salvatore Ferragamo store literally within spitting distance of each other.
I mean, damn! How much high-end crap do people need? It’s no surprise that
Sandton City is the richest square mile in Africa.
I’ve only had one weekend to explore so far, and I ended up
going to Mandela Square, where the Sandton City Mall is located, and to the
Apartheid museum, which was an educational and sobering experience. It’s crazy
to me that apartheid was still in place when I was born. It’s so unbelievably
recent. Mandela didn’t even become the first post-apartheid president until
1994. I was starting kindergarten…
 |
| Statue in Mandela Square |
The museum is really well done, and gives you a good
understanding (theoretical of course) of what it was like under apartheid. The different
signage and restrictions, but also the violence and brutality. One of the most
powerful exhibits showed actual videos from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,
the court-like body assembled after the end of apartheid to capture stories of
anybody who felt they had been a victim of violence. Hearing the first hand accounts
was haunting.
 |
| Apartheid era Signage |
 |
| International Response Posters |
 |
| Scenes of Protest |
I’m only two weeks into my one year assignment, and already
I’m having anxiety about fitting it all in – there’s so much to do down here!
But next on my list of Johannesburg adventures… learning to drive on the
opposite side of the road! If you don’t see another blog post.. tell my family
I love them.
Just kidding!
P.S. One of the taxi drivers wanted to talk American politics. I asked him for his best Trump impression. I'll leave you with this. Enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment