Nexus Seminar N.69

In their seminal 2018 paper, Johan Schot and W. Edward Steinmueller have identified the need for a third frame of innovation which drives business innovation towards transformative change. Given the urgency of sustainability transformations to enable a prosperous future for humanity and the planet and given the critical role business play in this transformation, channelling innovation towards sustainability is crucial. Yet the slow pace of change in the Global North, where companies often rely more on dodgy carbon offsets rather than actually reducing emissions, puts this transition at risk. This talk discusses the case of African entrepreneurs in the off-grid energy sector and the types of complex business model innovations they have produced: Despite receiving little support and significant structural challenges, these entrepreneurs have managed to innovate their value propositions, value creation approaches and value networks in ways that drive sustainable development. Their innovations, as well as the types of policy and finance arrangements required to scale them, carry important lessons for practitioners and scholars of innovation for sustainable development globally, and in the Global North, specifically.

Dr Philipp Trotter (University of Wuppertal, Honorary Research Associate, University of Oxford)

Dr Philipp Trotter is an Assistant Professor in Sustainability Management at the University of Wuppertal and an Honorary Research Associate at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on electrification in sub-Saharan Africa, covering both technical aspects of energy planning optimisation and quantitative and qualitative policy analyses and design. In his current research project, he engages with public and private energy sector stakeholders and rural communities in Uganda and Zambia to understand how rural electrification can best be driven domestically.

Date: 17 Juli 2023 02:50 PM in Amsterdam, Berlin, Rom, Stockholm, Wien

Registration: https://unu-edu.zoom