NextEra

NextEra

Entrepreneurs

Oliver Tapuwa Mapunga

Oliver Tapuwa Mapunga

Founder & CEO

Oliver Tapuwa Mapunga is a visionary Zimbabwean entrepreneur, dynamic leader, and global AI advisor. As the Founder and CEO of NextEra, he is driving innovation at the intersection of artificial intelligence and smart city development across Africa and beyond. In 2025, he was named 1st Runner-Up Techpreneur of the Year Under 30 in Southern Africa, and recognized among Zimbabwe’s 40 Under 40 Most Influential Young Business Leaders in 2024 — making history as the youngest honoree.
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Idea

NextEra is a clean tech startup transforming the future of energy by providing affordable, reliable, and sustainable power to underserved communities, utilities, and critical infrastructure worldwide. By integrating renewable energy systems with smart grid technologies, virtual power plants, and AI-powered management, NextEra is building a resilient clean energy ecosystem that empowers people, drives economic growth, and accelerates the global transition to net-zero.

Challenge

NextEra is addressing the urgent global energy access crisis, where over 1 billion people lack reliable electricity and 2.5 billion still depend on polluting fuels. Existing solutions like fossil-fuel generators remain costly, environmentally damaging, and unsustainable. In Africa, energy poverty affects 30% of the population and leaves 60% of healthcare facilities without dependable electricity. By solving these challenges, NextEra combats energy inequality, reduces carbon emissions, and delivers scalable, sustainable power to communities and industries that need it most.

 

Solution

NextEra is delivering end-to-end clean energy solutions that combine decentralized solar mini-grids, energy storage, electric vehicle charging networks, blockchain-based peer-to-peer energy trading, and AI-driven predictive analytics. Our approach reduces energy costs by up to 30%, ensures 24/7 access to power, improves air quality, creates local jobs, and promotes community development. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and scalable business models, NextEra is enabling clean, affordable, and intelligent energy systems that are future-ready.


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NextEra's News (1)

NextEra to deploy decentralized clean energy solutions for underserved communities
06 Oct 2025

NextEra to deploy decentralized clean energy solutions for underserved communities

Harare, Zimbabwe & Dubai, UAE — Oct 06, 2025

NextEra and FasterCapital today announced a strategic partnership through the EquityPilot program to accelerate NextEra’s deployment of decentralized clean energy, smart-grid and EV charging solutions across Zimbabwe and Sub-Saharan Africa. The collaboration combines NextEra’s technical pilot success with FasterCapital’s global scaling, mentorship and capital-raising support.

Market opportunity & problem statement

Global energy access gaps and unreliable power systems remain critical barriers to development: more than 1 billion people lack reliable electricity and 2.5 billion rely on polluting sources. Rapid solar adoption, energy storage and smart-grid technologies create a multi‑billion-dollar white space in Africa and emerging markets. NextEra targets off-grid and underserved urban communities, commercial and healthcare customers with scalable mini-grids and VPPs, addressing affordability, reliability and decarbonization where incumbent utilities and fossil solutions fall short.

Startup solution & differentiation

NextEra integrates solar generation (10 kW–1 MW), storage (10–100 kWh), smart grid controls, AI-driven predictive analytics and blockchain P2P trading to deliver 24/7 affordable power and EV charging infrastructure. The company’s end‑to‑end model—design, installation, O&M and local workforce development—delivers 20–30% energy cost reductions and robust local job creation. Early pilot installations and strategic partner engagements demonstrate 98% system reliability and strong community uptake, positioning NextEra as a defensible early mover in decentralized clean energy for underserved markets.

FasterCapital partnership value

Under the EquityPilot program, FasterCapital will provide NextEra with technical mentorship, go‑to‑market strategy, investor introductions, legal and regulatory support, and up to $1M in fundraising assistance. FasterCapital’s selective criteria and global network validate NextEra’s traction and market fit and will accelerate pilot-to-scale transitions across targeted regions. The collaboration sets a 12–18 month roadmap to expand capacity, customer base and commercial PPAs while optimizing unit economics.

Executive quotes

“Hesham Zreik, Founder of FasterCapital, said: “We back founders solving real-world infrastructure problems. NextEra’s integrated tech stack and community-first model meet the urgent energy access challenge while offering strong commercial returns. EquityPilot will speed market entry and de‑risk scaling for investors.” (See Hesham Zreik)

Oliver Tapuwa Mapunga, Founder & CEO of NextEra, said: “This partnership validates our mission to bring reliable, affordable clean power to underserved communities. FasterCapital’s operational support and investor network will help us scale pilots into multi‑MW deployments, expand EV charging and accelerate local economic impact.”

Growth trajectory & future plans

NextEra will use EquityPilot resources to expand from pilot sites to commercial mini-grids and VPP aggregations across two new regions within 12 months, targeting 5,000+ connections and 1 MW cumulative capacity in year one post-acceleration. Planned milestones include regulatory approvals, additional strategic partnerships, and a Series A funding round within 12–18 months to support regional rollouts and product enhancements.

About NextEra

NextEra is a clean-tech startup founded in April 2024 focused on delivering scalable, decentralized renewable energy, smart grids, VPPs, EV charging and AI-driven energy management for underserved communities and critical infrastructure. Headquartered in Ebene, Mauritius, with operational focus in Zimbabwe and Sub‑Saharan Africa, NextEra combines technology and local partnerships to expand 24/7 affordable clean power.

About FasterCapital

FasterCapital is a global startup accelerator and fund providing operational acceleration, technical mentorship and capital-raising support to early-stage deep tech and SaaS founders. The EquityPilot program pairs selective startups with expert networks, investor introductions and go-to-market resources to de-risk scale-up and expedite product-market fit. 

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