Backing the businesses that spread the economic benefits of decarbonisation
Small renewable-energy businesses spread the economic benefits of the transition further but find it harder to raise finance. Brightwild exists to fix that.
THE TEAM: extensive experience across climate, innovation and technology.
James built and runs the platform that makes Brightwild's small loans viable. He spent 25 years leading engineering teams at global scale, most recently as Engineering Director at Epic Games, where he shaped technical strategy and shipped platforms used by hundreds of millions of people. He has deep expertise in systems thinking, data-driven problem solving, and translating complex technology into practical tools
CO-FOUNDER & CTO
James Golding
Hugh Knowles
CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
Miriam Turner
CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
Miriam Turner and Hugh Knowles have worked as a successful jobshare for over 10 years - previously as co-Executive Directors of Friends of the Earth, which they led from 2020 to 2024. That role put them at the most senior level of UK civil society, engaging with ministers, funders and CEOs. Before that they ran innovation programmes at Friends of the Earth, Forum for the Future and Interface, founding ventures that have been shortlisted for the Earthshot Prize and won Innovate UK competitions. Their expertise spans strategy, innovation, governance, fundraising, and stakeholder engagement. Together, they bring a proven ability to design and finance pioneering projects, build high-performing teams, and navigate the intersection of technology, climate, and social impact.
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PARTNERS : SUPERPOWER AFRICA
Superpower Africa, founded by The Future of Energy (TFE), lends to small, growing African renewable-energy businesses. Many run PAYGo or energy-as-a-service models that open the market for customers but strain cash flow. TFE has financed solar developers in Nigeria and South Africa and has a pipeline of over 280 companies across mini-grids, commercial solar and electric vehicles.
Superpower Africa brings fifteen years on the ground experience in African energy, local data on how these businesses actually perform, and a vetted pipeline. Brightwild brings patient capital and a platform that keeps small loans affordable.
Multi-award winning innovator and thought leader in the energy access and frontier technology space, Sam has 15 years of field experience in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Sam leads the Superpower Africa, the distributed renewable energy lending platform launched by The Future Energy. Previously founding one of the pioneering mini grid and smart meter companies in Kenya has given him a deep understanding of the market dynamics that influence the success or failure of energy projects and practical experience with data and hardware in challenging environments. Sam holds a PhD in Low Cost Renewable Energies from Brunel University in the UK.
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Sam Duby
Kelvin Kamande
CHIEF DATA SCIENTIST
Kelvin is a machine learning specialist. Since 2020 he has worked on TFE projects across sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Mali and South Africa. At Superpower Africa he builds yield prediction models for mini-grid connections and analyses consumer data to forecast energy demand. He knows his way around smart meter data: his work clustering mini-grid customers by consumption and combining it with GIS data to identify customers more accurately is central to assessing borrowers. He holds an MSc in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda.