Overview
Overview
The SOLshare Story
SOLshare is a climate-tech company, founded in 2014~2015, consisting of a team of tech pioneers fully based out of Dhaka.
Our globally recognized SOLbazaar has developed into an energy marketplace to fight access deficits to sustainable energy services. Via our SOLbazaar platform, equip vulnerable communities with awesome energy services, creating synergies between energy and transport to provide access to clean affordable energy, micro-mobility services, financially inclusive PAYG technology and IoT devices, and C&I solar rooftop installations
SOLshare Board Members
Dr. Groh is a 2013 Stanford Ignite Fellow from Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds a Ph.D. from Aalborg University and the Postgraduate School Micro Energy Systems at the TU Berlin where he wrote his doctoral thesis on the role of energy in development processes, energy poverty & technical innovations, with a special focus on Bangladesh.
He published a book and multiple journal articles on the topic of decentralized electrification in the Global South. Dr. Groh started his career and received his DNA at MicroEnergy International, a Berlin-based consultancy firm working on microfinance and decentralized energy. In 2014, Dr. Groh co-founded SOLshare, acting as its CEO since then. He is also a Professor at the BRAC Business School at BRAC University in Dhaka (Bangladesh). On behalf of SOLshare, he received numerous awards, including Tech Pioneer ‘18 by the World Economic Forum, the Empowering People Network Award 2019 from the Siemens Stiftung Foundation, Finalist at the inaugural Earthshot Prize 2021, the most prestigious global environment prize in history launched by Prince William, and 2022 Winner of the Zayed Sustainability Award. Dr. Groh became an Ashoka Fellow in 2018, a UBS Global Visionary in 2019, and a Member of the Board and Vice President at the Bangladesh-German Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BGCCI) in 2021.
Hannes grew up in Germany and the U.S. and has lived in South Africa, Tanzania, and Bangladesh. He is an energy and process engineer by background, holding a Ph.D. in DC microgrids and a master’s degree in renewable energy systems engineering. Hannes has worked as a technical consultant for MicroEnergy International (Germany) on several projects in Asia and Africa, undertaking technology, supplier, and value chain assessments
Previously, Hannes worked for CAMCO (Tanzania), Schott Solar CSP (Germany), and the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (Germany). Hannes has authored multiple technical and non-technical international publications on swarm electrification. He was an awardee of the German National Academic Foundation as well as a scholar of the national Ph.D. program of the Federal Ministry of Education, Germany. Hannes is involved in the standardization work in IEEE and IEC, has co-authored the VDE DKE “Low-voltage direct current standardization roadmap,” has served in IEC system evaluation groups, and is a member of the IEC System Committee Low Voltage Direct Current (SyC LVDC). As the Senior Technical Advisor of SOLshare, he is responsible for the development and deployment of solutions for smart energy services in stationary and mobile applications.
Daniel holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Trier with a specialization in Monetary Economics and Social Psychology. He has more than ten years of experience in business development and international development projects and has worked in Germany, Serbia, and Bangladesh. As Co-Founder and Senior Financial Advisor of SOLshare, Daniel is leading the business as well as SOLshare’s development activities and is overseeing our financials, accounting, and HR department.
He moved to Dhaka, Bangladesh in January 2015, and has played a major role in the fast development of SOLshare with a focus on product-market fit, and operational and business model development. Before joining SOLshare, Daniel worked as an independent consultant for IT Start-Ups in Germany. He then worked in the development sector as a consultant for MicroEnergy International in Germany as well as the KfW Development Bank and GIZ in Serbia, where he was involved in energy and private sector development projects.
Board of Directors - Investor Board Seats
Ohad Mamann is an Investment Partner at E.ON Innovation Co-Investments, Inc., where he leverages over 15 years of experience in venture capital and legal advisory to support and scale innovative energy start-ups. Based in Israel, he plays a pivotal role in identifying and nurturing ventures that drive the global energy transition towards sustainability.
Prior to joining E.ON Innovation Co-Investments, Inc., Ohad was a Partner at Horn & Co. Law Offices, specializing in representing venture capital funds, entrepreneurs, and start-up companies. He has led numerous complex cross-border transactions, including private investment rounds, mergers and acquisitions, and technology licensing agreements with academic institutions and strategic partners.
As a member of SOLshare’s Board of Directors, Ohad will provide strategic investment oversight, drawing on his extensive experience in venture capital and the energy sector. His guidance will help ensure SOLshare stays aligned with its mission while navigating growth opportunities, partnerships, and long-term sustainability goals.
Robert is the Managing Director, Portfolio Management for the Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) based in Singapore. IIX is a global organization dedicated to building a more inclusive world as the foundation for sustainable peace. We do this by changing financial systems and innovating solutions for women’s empowerment, climate action, and community resilience. Over the past decade, we have built the world’s largest crowdfunding platform for impact investing (Impact Partners), created innovative financial products such as the Women’s Livelihood Bond, operated award-winning enterprise technical assistance programs such as IIX ACTS, and established an Impact Institute for training and education.
To date, our work has spanned 40 countries, unlocked nearly $75 million of private sector capital to support 130+ enterprises, avoided over 850,000 metric tons of carbon, and impacted over 23 million lives. IIX has received numerous awards for its work, including the Oslo Business for Peace Award and the ‘Nobel Prize for Business.’ The IIX Growth Fund (IGF) is a US$25 million equity fund that invests in enterprises throughout South and Southeast Asia that bring innovative social and environmental solutions to the world’s remotest corners.
Rob started to mentor SOLshare on financial issues in 2013 when SOLshare came 3rd in the CTI PFAN business plan competition. The engagement, which came as part of the prize, was originally intended to be for one year. However, the relationship between Rob and SOLshare never stopped. Today, Rob is sitting on our Board representing the IIX Growth Fund.
Mariana Costa currently serves as Principal at EDP Ventures, the venture-capital arm of the Portuguese energy group EDP Group, focused on early-stage investments in the energy transition space (renewables, grid technologies, storage, mobility, digital). In her role she evaluates startup technologies, helps scale them, and connects them into the broader energy ecosystem, offering not just capital but network, operational collaborations, proof-of-concepts and strategic access.
Mariana has built extensive experience at the intersection of clean energy, distributed resources, and utility innovation. At EDP Ventures, she has been instrumental in investing in and supporting technologies spanning distributed energy resources, storage, grid flexibility, and digital & AI solutions for the energy transition. Her network spans across European and Latin-American energy/innovation ecosystems, giving her a viewpoint on regulatory, business, and investment dynamics in multiple geographies.
Mariana brings a strong investor and utility‑ecosystem perspective, guiding Solshare’s growth strategy, partnerships, and governance. Her expertise in early‑stage energy tech and distributed systems helps the company scale into new markets and business models while navigating regulation and investor expectations.
Management
Dr. Groh is a 2013 Stanford Ignite Fellow from Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds a Ph.D. from Aalborg University and the Postgraduate School Micro Energy Systems at the TU Berlin where he wrote his doctoral thesis on the role of energy in development processes, energy poverty & technical innovations, with a special focus on Bangladesh.
He published a book and multiple journal articles on the topic of decentralized electrification in the Global South. Dr. Groh started his career and received his DNA at MicroEnergy International, a Berlin-based consultancy firm working on microfinance and decentralized energy. In 2014, Dr. Groh co-founded SOLshare, acting as its CEO since then. He is also a Professor at the BRAC Business School at BRAC University in Dhaka (Bangladesh). On behalf of SOLshare, he received numerous awards, including Tech Pioneer ‘18 by the World Economic Forum, the Empowering People Network Award 2019 from the Siemens Stiftung Foundation, Finalist at the inaugural Earthshot Prize 2021, the most prestigious global environment prize in history launched by Prince William, and 2022 Winner of the Zayed Sustainability Award. Dr. Groh became an Ashoka Fellow in 2018, a UBS Global Visionary in 2019, and a Member of the Board and Vice President at the Bangladesh-German Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BGCCI) in 2021.
Aziza Sultana Mukti has a background in Science and Business Administration and over 15 years of experience in the blend of retail and development sector in Bangladesh. Aziza was previously on the management team of BRAC’s Aarong enterprise, holding department head roles in Merchandising, Social Compliance, Producer Development, and Process Development over her tenure.
She brings with her a rich mix of experience in working with rural artisans throughout Bangladesh working for their economic and social empowerment. Aziza has also taken lead roles in gender mainstreaming projects, several donor funded projects, international craft development, and organizational strategy advisement. As the Head of Operations of SOLshare, Aziza is leading the field operations, sales, aftersales, customer-relations, and production unit and has played a major role in establishing SOLshare in the local energy market in Bangladesh. Aziza holds a Masters on Geology and Mining from Rajshahi University and a Masters of Business Administration from BRAC University.
Hannes grew up in Germany and the U.S. and has lived in South Africa, Tanzania, and Bangladesh. He is an energy and process engineer by background, holding a Ph.D. in DC microgrids and a master’s degree in renewable energy systems engineering. Hannes has worked as a technical consultant for MicroEnergy International (Germany) on several projects in Asia and Africa, undertaking technology, supplier, and value chain assessments.
Previously, Hannes worked for CAMCO (Tanzania), Schott Solar CSP (Germany), and the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (Germany). Hannes has authored multiple technical and non-technical international publications on swarm electrification. He was an awardee of the German National Academic Foundation as well as a scholar of the national Ph.D. program of the Federal Ministry of Education, Germany. Hannes is involved in the standardization work in IEEE and IEC, has co-authored the VDE DKE “Low-voltage direct current standardization roadmap,” has served in IEC system evaluation groups, and is a member of the IEC System Committee Low Voltage Direct Current (SyC LVDC). As the Senior Technical Advisor of SOLshare, he is responsible for the development and deployment of solutions for smart energy services in stationary and mobile applications.
Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed completed his Master of Business Administration in Finance from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), the University of Dhaka in 2003 and Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical & Electronics from Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology, Bangladesh in 1994. So far in his career, he has worked with several renowned organizations like Rahimafrooz, Bangladesh Power Development Board, Linde Bangladesh Ltd., etc.
Before joining us, he served Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd. as the Head, Offgrid.
Daniel holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Trier with a specialization in Monetary Economics and Social Psychology. He has more than ten years of experience in business development and international development projects and has worked in Germany, Serbia, and Bangladesh. As Co-Founder and Senior Financial Advisor of SOLshare, Daniel is leading the business as well as SOLshare’s development activities and is overseeing our financials, accounting, and HR department.
He moved to Dhaka, Bangladesh in January 2015, and has played a major role in the fast development of SOLshare with a focus on product-market fit, and operational and business model development. Before joining SOLshare, Daniel worked as an independent consultant for IT Start-Ups in Germany. He then worked in the development sector as a consultant for MicroEnergy International in Germany as well as the KfW Development Bank and GIZ in Serbia, where he was involved in energy and private sector development projects.
Isa Abrar has more than 10 years of experience in technology through his previous roles. Prior to SOLshare he has led sBusiness.xyz (Sheba Platform Ltd), a B2B SAAS company, several large-scale ICT projects with Bikroy.com, Samsung Electronics as a Product Manager for IT Products and local esteemed conglomerate aamra Companies.
Abrar has completed his Bachelors at the American International University – Bangladesh (AIUB), with a Summa Cumm Laude.
Anisa is a seasoned investment professional with over 15 years of experience in financial analysis, strategic planning, and investment management. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Management from Monash University and is a CFA charterholder. Her career includes key roles at organizations such as SBK Tech Ventures and City Bank Capital Resources Limited, where she worked across various finance and advisory functions.
Her strong grasp of the local venture capital landscape, coupled with a relationship-driven approach, has consistently supported sound financial decision-making and governance. As Director of Finance at SOLshare, Anisa brings her extensive expertise to oversee financial strategy, ensure compliance, and support the company’s continued growth in the clean energy and tech sector.
Advisory Board
Advisory Board
Jeffrey Char is a serial entrepreneur, investor and educator focusing on sustainable energy systems, climate tech and agtech. He is Founder & CEO of SOGO Energy, a company providing affordable, value-added clean energy services. He also serves as CEO of Pteah Baitong, a social enterprise bringing solar-powered irrigation as a service to smallholder rice farmers in rural Cambodia. In addition, Jeffrey is Founder & Director at TRENDE, a renewable energy company transforming Japan’s energy market with a P2P platform that lets anyone buy, sell, and share renewable power.
Jeffrey Char believes that innovative solutions can leverage market forces to solve social and environmental challenges. He is also founder and CEO at J-Seed Ventures, an early-stage venture studio. Jeffrey Char is originally from Hawaii, but a long-term resident of Tokyo, Japan. Jeffrey Charles specializes in energy access and renewable energy, with expertise spanning innovation, startups, venture capital, finance, financial inclusion, strategy, corporate governance, and legal and M&A.
Annette Werth is a dynamic engineer and technology leader with over 12 years of international experience spanning corporate giants and high-impact startups. She holds a PhD in energy infrastructure and has hands-on expertise in microgrids, IoT platforms, and cloud-based energy systems. Known for her candid communication style and innovative approach, Annette thrives at the intersection of technology and business, transforming ambitious ideas into scalable solutions.
She is the founder of SOGO Energy, a social enterprise focused on decentralized energy access, and currently serves as the Worldwide Technology Lead for Energy and Utilities at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where she helps shape the digital future of the energy sector. Annette is fluent in five languages and is passionate about renewable energy, peer-to-peer energy trading, IoT, and blockchain technologies. In 2025, Annette joined the Board of Directors at SOLshare, bringing her deep technical expertise and startup experience to help scale SOLshare’s cutting-edge solutions in decentralized energy and e-mobility. Her unique blend of field experience and cloud technology leadership will support SOLshare’s mission to build resilient, people-powered energy networks across underserved communities.
Mr. Reicher advises and invests in various renewable energy enterprises in developing countries. He is the Chairman of The Africa Renewable Energy Fund, which is managed by Berkeley Energy. A British national, he was educated in the UK and the US, and after an initial period of 10 years in investment banking at Citibank and Credit Suisse, he has spent the past 28 years of his career in private equity investment with Botts & Company, Credit Suisse, CDC/Actis, and Berkeley Energy.
Dr. Schüning holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration. From 2004 to 2009 he was the CFO of Q.Cells SE, where one of his achievements was his contribution to the solar company´s successful IPO. In recent years Dr. Schüning has been active in helping to launch various startup enterprises in the solar industry. Prior to his engagement in the solar energy industry, Dr. Schüning worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers and was a Board Member at Edding AG and Techs AG.
Karthik Chandrasekar, in June 2012 took charge of a project to create an early-stage fund with a more than money approach to drive access to energy in emerging markets in partnership with Shell Foundation which is now Sangam Ventures. Karthik contributes actively to the seed early-stage cleantech ecosystem in India as part of the mentor/jury panel in the GEF-UNIDO Global Cleantech Innovation Program, the Lockheed Martin Innovation Growth program, the Millennium Alliance program, The ET Power of Ideas program, and the TiE Delhi Clean Technology SIG.
Prior to Sangam, he led clean-tech investments in India for Acumen Fund. During his time at Acumen, he was focused on providing risk capital to companies providing products and services to the poor and engaged with portfolio companies at the board level to provide strategic advice and governance. Prior to Acumen, Karthik was with TVS Capital Funds where he focused on developing an investment thesis for providing basic services in water, energy, and agriculture for inclusive growth. As part of the fund MD’s initiative, he also assisted CII and Prof. C.K. Prahalad in developing a vision for India@75. During his initial career in the US and UK, Karthik worked in the banking and financial services sector with Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch in their Investment Banking and Private Client groups. Karthik holds an MBA from Chicago Booth, MS in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon, and a B. Tech from IIT Bombay.
Managing Director of the German company MicroEnergy International, Noara is an experienced senior energy consultant with more than 20 years of expertise in energy engineering and energy economics, inclusive finance and strategic business development, policy assessment, and design, project implementation and monitoring. Working alongside energy companies, financial institutions, and policymakers,
Mrs. Kebir aims at implementing the Bottom-Up Global Energy Transformation by placing those who live in structural poverty at the center of technical innovations, customized end-user financing, policy initiatives, and academic research. Mrs. Kebir graduated in 2004 from the Technical University Berlin with a BSc. and MSc. in Process and Energy Engineering.
Advisory Board – Honorary Members
Dr. Daniel M. Kammen the James and Katherine Lau Distinguished Professor of Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley, with parallel appointments in the Energy and Resources Group, the Goldman School of Public Policy, and the department of Nuclear Engineering.
He is currently serving as the Senior Advisor for Energy Innovation at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
He was appointed by then Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in April 2010 as the first energy fellow of the new Environment and Climate Partnership for the Americas (ECPA) initiative. In 2016 he was asked to serve as the Science Envoy for U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry, where he served until August, 2017. He then resigned over the policies and actions of Donald Trump. Kammen is the founding director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL; http://rael.berkeley.edu), and was Director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center from 2007 – 2015. He has founded or is on the board of over 10 companies, and has served the State of California and US federal government in expert and advisory capacities. Dr. Kammen was educated in physics at Cornell (BA 1984) and Harvard (MA 1986; PhD 1988), and held postdoctoral positions at the California Institute of Technology and Harvard. He was an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Science, Technology and Environmental Policy Program at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University before moving to the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Kammen has served as a contributing or coordinating lead author on various reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since 1999. The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. During 2010-2011 Kammen served as the World Bank Group’s first Chief Technical Specialist for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. Dr. Dan Kammen served as the Ph.D. advisor to Dr. Sebastian Groh and is therefore familiar with SOLshare from its inception. He is a strong international ally and has also lobbied within Bangladesh for a more renewable energy future for the country.
HISTORY
While having worked as a consultant for many years around the globe with the goal of bringing together microfinance and decentralized energy supply, as well as dwelled in scientific research throughout his Ph.D. on the role of energy in development processes, Dr. Sebastian Groh was exposed to a variety of innovative energy solutions, and their shortcomings. He was most amazed by the solar home system program in Bangladesh with 85,000 systems installed in the single month of November 2014 when he first came there.
Along with a couple of colleagues, they found that among the millions of systems in the field there is a vast amount of excess energy (up to 30%) and at the same time everybody needs more power but is constrained by their system respective system design. It became clear then that access to electricity is critical for a remote village, but it is the flexibility and profitability of energy usage that provides the key ingredient for innovation and change leading to sustainable development in a wider sense.
Access to electricity is also crucial but more so than that is the flexibility and profitability behind energy usage that leads to real change towards sustainable development. Presently, with 5 million electric vehicles on the road, the country is hosting yet another booming market. However, the current charging infrastructure makes for shorter battery time with higher interest rates, barring EV drivers from reaching their full potential income.
And thus, SOLshare was born out of a call to serve the lowest echelon of society, providing safe and affordable models for providing electricity through our revolutionary approach to mobilizing energy and transport, managing power flows efficiently between devices via P2P technology.
