Senior Partnership Advisor, Advocacy & Strategy, wPOWER Project
Wanjira Mathai is the Senior Advisor for the Partnerships for Women Entrepreneurs in Renewables (wPOWER) where she leads global advocacy and strategy. The wPOWER Hub promotes the prominence of women’s leadership in addressing energy poverty and climate change by bringing renewable energy to 3.5 million women in East Africa, Nigeria and India. wPOWER is the secretariat for the larger partnership.
wPOWER focuses on consolidating and building evidence that supports the strategic involvement of women in clean energy entrepreneurship, spotlighting and scaling of best practices in clean energy entrepreneurship, advocating for women’s leadership in clean energy entrepreneurship & in addressing climate change, and building a global partnership of stakeholders involved in the sector.
As the lead global advocate for the wPOWER partnership, Wanjira represents the issue of women’s economic empowerment through clean energy access in local and international forums, particularly making the linkages to the urgency of climate action and the sustainable development goals (particularly goal 7)
Wanjira chairs the board of the legacy-focused Wangari Maathai Foundation. Mathai also sits on the boards of the Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai Institute, and the World Resources Institute. She is an advisory council member of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, co-chair of the Global Restoration Council, and a member of the Earth Charter International Council.
Arresting Deforestation • Clean Energy • Environmental Sustainability • Livelihoods • Women's and Girls' Education
Eastern and Southern Africa
