Mr. Winfried Rijssenbeek

Director

"The great challenge of this century is poverty how can we substantially reduce poverty in the developing countries? Poverty is the lack of income and is often caused by lack of employment, knowledge of opportunities and bad health. Much of this is related to energy. Today, on this planet, still some 1.4 billion people lack modern energy services like cooking gas or electricity. On the other hand, we see an end to fossil fuels which, at the same time produce local pollution and likely a warmer and more volatile climate. So, the future is in energy efficient use and the deployment of renewable energy systems. With my 28 years in the field of renewable energy, my experience is that for each location there is an optimal renewable energy solution. It can be by using biomass, wind, sun or water. With FACT and our partners we have a unique chance to generate and spread knowledge and expertise on bio-energy for locale development assisting local communities and farmers. In this way, these people can make informed choices on the energy issues for improving their livelihoods. That’s our challenge."

Mr. Ywe Jan Franken (on sabbatical till August 2013)

Project Developer

"Environmental issues and plant production have always strongly interested me and during my studies of Tropical Agriculture at Wageningen University I specialised in agronomy. Working for FACT as portfolio manager Latin America gives me the unique chance to facilitate bioenergy business development in emerging economies and create opportunities for local farmers and entrepreneurs. Simultaneously I can work on a solution for global warming and promote biodiversity. I believe bioenergy  is an essential part of sustainable and diversified agricultural systems that can also include food, forage, fibre, timber, ornamentals, dyes, tannins and traditional medicine." 

Mr. Bart Frederiks

Bioenergy Conversion Specialist

"Renewable energy in developing countries is a great field to be working in if you are an engineer / world citizen. Energy is an important driver for development, and can really contribute to improving people's livelihoods in developing countries. Using renewable energy is the best way to do that, as it enables people to supply their own energy while not contributing to global environmental problems and depletion of natural resources. Working with FACT enables me to apply knowledge of bioenergy conversion processes and passion for hands-on work to the development and implementation of inovative pilot projects in developing countries."

Ms.Sandra Bos

Social Engineer & SME Specialist                                   

"Since my graduation at Wageningen University in 2007, I have been working with rural entrepreneurs. First in the Netherlands, in the multifunctional farming sector, where farmers combine farming and other activities such as  health care, recreation or education. In 2009 and 2010, I worked in Mozambique, where I was involved in a research project on community-based biofuel production and use and I worked with small- and medium-size solar retailers. What I learned from working with entrepreneurs in these sectors is that they face many risks and they often do not receive much support in developing their business. I believe that developing a sustainable bioenergy sector should go hand in hand with developing an enabling environment in the private sector. This requires a business-minded approach of development organizations. I am very happy that I can work with an organization that has such a mindset, and that supports innovative entrepreneurs in developing business opportunities for sustainable bioenergy production and use."