Our personal journeys are all connected.
Poverty and access to energy are inextricably linked. You cannot tackle one without addressing the other. As of 2019 in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, just 11% of the population had access to the electric grid and that access was patchy and unreliable.
Now, one person is leading Malawi’s push for 100% access to electricity by 2030: Brave Khimwa Mhonie. We are delighted have Brave joining us to deliver the closing keynote at IFC 2025, sharing stories from the frontlines of change that are enabling his vision of a better future.
A changemaker at his core, Brave knew he wanted to build a better world, but the question was how. Growing up studying by the light of a kerosene lamp, Brave got a lifechanging opportunity when he was offered a scholarship to study medicine. Taking a step that would change the course of his life, Brave turned the scholarship down, choosing instead to join the new organisation he had been volunteering with: SolarAid.
Today, Brave is watching his dream of a brighter future (in all senses of the world!) for the people of Malawi become a reality. Now at the helm of SolarAid Malawi and heading up its pioneering social enterprise, SunnyMoney, Brave is tackling poverty, strengthening climate resilience, and creating opportunities for better education, better health, and better livelihoods.
You’ll hear stories of extraordinary changemakers, like the female solar entrepreneurs who are bringing solar energy to their communities; you’ll find out how innovative ideas are cutting through to the heart of the problems we’re trying to solve, even as challenges (like cuts in aid funding or extreme climate events) mount; and you’ll learn how the breathtaking success of one pilot energy project is changing government approaches and inspiring similar initiatives across the African continent.
The closing moments of the International Fundraising Congress are a collective call to action that starts with you. Brave’s journey may be a deeply personal one, but the realisation of his dream has been made possible by thousands of people like you: the fundraisers, campaigners, activists, and changemakers all over the world who stood up and said better things are possible. The future isn’t something we can afford to wait for. It’s something we must create—and it starts now.
Having dedicated his life to trialling and scaling innovative solutions to increase access to affordable energy in Malawi, Brave Khimwa Mhonie now leads SolarAid Malawi and heads up its pioneering social enterprise, SunnyMoney. A frustrated Manchester United supporter, Brave himself is a force of energy feeding his fellow fundraisers and changemakers.