commentEvan Thomas knows full well the growing pains of building something new in the developing world from his work with Engineers Without Borders-USA while an engineering undergrad at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Now just 26, a Ph.D. aerospace engineer and NASA researcher, he is about to score a breakthrough in gaining acceptance of an unorthodox business approach to sustaining infrastructure in poor communities.
In a hectic life of academics and career-building, Thomas has managed to create Manna Energy Ltd., a for-profit social enterprise that seeks to finance new and maintained infrastructure with U.N-sanctioned emission-reduction credits. It is believed to be the first time such a tack has been tried. Thomas, Manna’s executive vice president, his partners and investors are banking on a less-polluting water-treatment plant built in Rwanda during his EWB-USA days to generate revenue to expand the project and the concept. They predict the 500 systems planned there could generate at least $100 million over 14 years. A similar effort is planned in Afghanistan to commercialize a waste-to-fuel project that would create jobs for the poorest.
Only 26, this Ph.D. engineer is the catalyst for a venture that blends third-world infrastructure building with real-world business enterprise.
"Manna Energy is a social enterprise whose motivations include looking out for our shareholders, the same way McDonald’s does," says Thomas, whose networking skills have lured NASA astronauts and retired corporate officials to Manna.
The Swedish government has already agreed to buy 100% of the Rwanda project credits at fixed prices, anticipating expected U.N. approval next month. "Evan is really the backbone of this," says Manna CEO Victor Bernstein, a former satellite communications executive. “He’s an incredible multi-tasker."
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