Future Energy Leaders World Energy Café: Unlocking Finance for Inclusive Energy Transitions

Future Energy Leaders World Energy Café – ROAD TO PANAMA

Unlocking Finance for Inclusive Energy Transitions

On Wednesday, 23 July 2025, from 3 pm (UK) - Webinar.

This session will explore how diverse actors — from institutional investors to local and youth-led initiatives — are redefining risk, return, and impact to ensure that finance delivers meaningful value to people and planet.

Bringing together perspectives from across regions and sectors, we’ll spotlight what’s working, where persistent barriers remain, and what bold, collaborative actions are needed next. With an intergenerational lens, this discussion will also consider how finance can empower new leadership, unlock untapped innovation, and support the next generation in shaping more resilient, equitable energy futures.

This conversation also serves as a preamble to World Energy Week in Panama (6–9 October 2024), where the Council’s global dialogue on "Unlocking Finance: Energy that delivers return–to–people and planet" will continue. The insights from this session will help shape that critical agenda.

Key speakers & moderators:

• Moderator: Justice Ohene-Akoto, Founder, Africa Sustainable Energy Centre
• Fernando Zúñiga, Managing Director, MPC Capital - Focus: Investing in Renewable Energy across Emerging Markets (especially Latin America)
• Karikari Achireko Kwagyan, Graduate Research Assistant, MIT CEEPR - Focus: Economics and Business of Investments in Nuclear Energy Systems
• Filip Koprcina, Founder & CEO, Energy Shift - Focus: Decentralised finance and digital tools for energy investment
• Rimshah Javed, Principal Originator, Danske Commodities - Focus: Electric power trading and market structures
• Alena Fargere, Independent Director, Lhyfe - Focus: Energy Economics (especially hydrogen)
• Eduarda Zoghbi, Founder, MPower Brasil - Focus: The role of concessional finance in the energy transition

Key discussion topics: 

Redefining Risk and Return in Energy Finance

• How evolving risk perceptions—from insurers to VCs—are influencing investment flows
• Rethinking risk: systemic, social, and intergenerational dimensions

The Role of Concessional Capital, Blended Finance, and De-Risking Tools

• Where they work best and what’s missing
• Ensuring concessional capital drives inclusion, not just margin reduction

Decentralisation and Democratisation of Finance

• Community ownership, digital tools, and decentralised finance models
• Reclaiming agency from traditional capital gatekeepers

Demand-Side Investment and Energy Consumers as Change Agents

• How finance can empower prosumers and local actors
• Case studies: smart meters, demand aggregation, and user-led innovation

Financing the Hard Stuff: Capital for High-Capex, Long-Lead Technologies

• What makes nuclear, hydrogen, and infrastructure bankable in today’s risk-averse environment?

Youth and Local Leadership in Shaping Investment Futures

• How emerging leaders are challenging financial orthodoxy
• Intergenerational investment thinking and unlocking new voices in capital allocation

Regional Realities: Investing in Emerging Markets with Integrity

• Tailoring financial strategies to local risks, structures, and needs
• What inclusive capital deployment looks like on the ground