Bboxx appoints former Minister Nick Hurd as Senior Adviser as the company gears up towards the next phase of growth
Thursday 5th November 2020 – Bboxx, a next generation utility, has announced the appointment of former UK Minister and MP Nick Hurd as a Senior Adviser, as the company gears up towards the next phase of its growth journey.
As part of this new senior role at Bboxx – who manufacture, distribute and finance decentralised solar powered systems in developing countries – Nick Hurd will advise the company on projects involving political and multilateral engagement with key stakeholders and overseas governments.
He joins Bboxx at a time of significant expansion, as the business aims to scale further by working with partners – from governments, to investors and major global corporations – to provide its products and services to many more people. This follows the company’s milestone of having positively impacted over one million lives through access to energy, as well as its successful $50 million Series D funding round led by Mitsubishi Corporation last year, and a joint venture with EDF in Togo, among other key deals.
The Right Hon Nick Hurd served as a Member of Parliament in the UK for fourteen years before standing down in December 2019. During that time he served three different Prime Ministers as a Government Minister over more than eight years. His experience includes service as UK International Development Minister at the Department for International Development (DFID), where he led the Energy Africa campaign to support the acceleration of the off-grid movement. He also served in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry, and in the Cabinet Office as Minister for Civil Society. Before politics, Nick spent eighteen years in the private sector, divided between investment banking and the development of young growth businesses.
Nick Hurd, Senior Adviser to Bboxx commented: “It should be quite unacceptable that in 2020 500 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still live without access to electricity and many more rely on polluting fuels to cook. I am really delighted to join a great team at Bboxx that has a passion for changing that. Success requires more effective partnership between entrepreneurs, governments, and providers of funding: I look forward to working with others to help drive the change we need to see.”
Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and Co-Founder of Bboxx, commented: “Nick Hurd has come on board at a pivotal time for our business, as we celebrate our tenth year and enter the next phase of our ambitious growth trajectory. We have some exciting announcements in the pipeline and we will be working with Nick to leverage his deep political expertise in climate action.
“As we continue on our mission to transform lives and unlock potential through access to energy, working with Nick is another confirmation of our commitment to accelerating progress on meeting UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 – clean energy for all.”
ENDS
About Bboxx
Bboxx is a next generation utility, transforming lives and unlocking potential through access to energy. Bboxx manufactures, distributes and finances decentralised solar powered systems in developing countries. It is scaling through forging strategic partnerships and its innovative technology Bboxx Pulse®, a comprehensive management platform using IoT technology. Through affordable, reliable, and clean utility provision, Bboxx is bringing people into the digital economy, creating new markets, and enabling economic development in off-grid communities and those living without a reliable grid connection. The company is positively impacting the lives of more than one million people with its products and services in over 35 markets, directly contributing to 11 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
So far, Bboxx has deployed more than 350,000 solar home systems. Bboxx has over 800 staff across nine offices including in Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, and Togo, with its head office in the UK and its manufacturing operations in China. In 2019, Bboxx was the winner of the Zayed Sustainability Prize in the Energy category – testament to the way the company is making a meaningful difference to people’s lives around the world.
For more information please contact:
Bboxx Press Office:
Amy Boekstein
Instinctif Partners
Email: bboxx@instinctif.com
Phone: +44 (0) 7457 2064