Q+A with Jasandra Nyker, Managing Partner, Saja Climate Partners

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PoweRise: You have an impressive background – former CEO of BioTherm Energy, a managing director of the International Power Fund at Denham Capital, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and more. How has this led you to the board at GEAPP?

Jasandra Nyker: I’ve had two decades of experience in climate technology and investment globally, including a fair portion of time in the global south. I have had extensive strategic and financial experience in Africa, scaling renewable energy businesses and then driving their growth leveraging blended finance structures a needed. More recently, I’ve worked in Latin America and Southeast Asia, which are all markets that are pivotal to GEAPP’s mission and success. I know how things need to be done so that projects and businesses can be scalable and sustainable.

PR: You’re joining GEAPP at a challenging time, globally. Why is the Alliance so important at this point in history?

JN: Now more than ever, there is a strong caucus that doesn’t believe we are in a climate crisis. At the same time, the just energy transition is more urgent than ever.

No single entity can solve for this. GEAPP’s special skills are leveraging the public and private sectors and building partnerships – alliancing. I don’t know any other organization with such a strong ability to bring government, philanthropy, financial institutions and the private sector together to create impact at the scale and speed the world needs.

PR: What was it about GEAPP that first caught your eye?

JN: I saw a video of a woman in rural India who has a mill powered by solar energy. It had transformed her livelihood and given her family a sense of a future. And there was another story of a female solar installer in Indonesia who has helped electrifying her community. I had to ask who was behind this and how I could use my lived experiences to strengthen their ability to deliver.

GEAPP has had its first three years. It has tested a range of models and seen what works and what doesn’t. Now it’s in a position to take those learnings and scale.

PR: What would you say to anyone thinking of joining the Alliance?

JN: Ultimately, the positive economic outcomes will drive the energy transition. Today, access to capital is more constrained and investors want to know that their dollars are having the greatest impact.

GEAPP’s success in India is an incredible example of impact relative to dollars spent. So, it has evidence of what works and is now uniquely positioned to apply its learnings in other markets. GEAPP is well placed to use its catalytic capital and alliance-building expertise to de-risk projects, and steer both governments and development organizations toward unlocking further investment and accelerating deployment.

I’m highly optimistic about what the Alliance can deliver in its next five years.