Thursday, November 20th
Good day. Thursday, November 20th — well, I was hoping to get a call today from the lady at the Embassy of Ivory Coast, but that didn’t happen. I didn’t quite understand why, because I fully expected it. So I mostly hung out at the hotel and took a small trip around the area, looking at things and taking it all in.
Meeting Bram at Breakfast
Then the evening turned into something special. Earlier at breakfast, I had met Bram Overane completely by coincidence. I happened to sit at the table next to him without having any idea who he was. Later I learned his name was Bram — and how many Brahms do we know who don’t speak Dutch?
He is a Dutch guy based in Kenya, working for a company involved in renewable energies — PowerGen Renewable Energy, something along those lines. His work helps establish new power-generation projects across several African countries. He has been in Congo, Sierra Leone, and now Liberia.
His Work in Renewable Energy
For his company, Liberia is a first. He is here to lay the groundwork and explore potential opportunities. The company already has around forty projects running in Sierra Leone.
Bram has a team on the ground: one person came from Sierra Leone, and two others are based in Liberia doing groundwork to gather leads. In this context, “leads” means potential mines or small communities that need electricity — places with limited or no access to power. They are working at the forefront of what Africa needs most.
Busy Schedules and Government Meetings
With all the people involved, Bram had a packed schedule. He spent time meeting with officials such as the Deputy Minister of Energy of Liberia, accompanied by several team members. Later that evening, he and I talked over dinner at a fascinating Chinese restaurant.
Dinner at a Chinese Restaurant
The restaurant had many private rooms where groups could dine separately. There were a lot of them. We sat in the common area, but the setup was interesting. One thing I noticed: the portions were huge. It was very easy to order too much.
Life in Kenya and Travel Across Africa
Bram had a busy day and was going to stay busy over the next days as well. He was staying at the same hotel, and it was only because breakfast was included that we even met. Encounters like that are always fun.
He has been living in Kenya for a little over a year with his wife and daughter. His wife works for a company called Afripad, located in Uganda, which produces female hygiene products. They both have meaningful work, and he travels for about a week or ten days each month to keep projects moving.
The Challenges of Financing Projects
The hardest part, he said, is always the financing. They get investors involved and must navigate organizations and government entities that don’t always cooperate — or worse, expect money upfront to make things move. Those decisions are difficult because you want progress, but often nothing happens unless someone’s palm is greased.
Their company seems to have a firm stance against bribery, and greasing palms is not part of their playbook.
Final Reflections
As you can tell, meeting people like this on the road is absolutely fascinating. I hope these encounters continue.
Thank you for coming along, and see you tomorrow.
