Alakesh Chetia is the founder of the company Micro Power that went on to become the joint venture company Yoma Micro Power with the partnership of Yoma Group, Norfund and IFC.
International Finance Corporation IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. IFC works with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using capital, expertise, and active engagement to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In FY17, IFC delivered a record $19.3 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to help end poverty and boost shared prosperity.
Norfund is the Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries. Our mission is to create jobs and to improve lives by investing in businesses that drive sustainable development. Norfund is owned and funded by the Norwegian Government and is the Government’s most important tool for strengthening the private sector in developing countries, and for reducing poverty. Norfund’s committed portfolio totals 3.1 billion USD in Sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia, and Central America. Norfund has four investment areas: Clean Energy, Financial Institutions, Scalable Enterprises and Green Infrastructure.
Listed on the Main Board of the Singapore Securities Exchange Trading Limited (SGX-ST), Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd. is a leading business corporation with a diversified portfolio of businesses in Real Estate, Consumer, Automotive & Heavy Equipment, Financial Services and Investments in Myanmar. Together with its partner, the SPA Group, the Group is taking a conglomerate approach to build a diversified portfolio of businesses in Myanmar. The Company was ranked in the top 5% of the Governance and Transparency Index 2017, ranked 26th out of top 100 largest Singapore companies in the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard 2017 and won the Best Managed Board (Gold) Award at the Singapore Corporate Awards in 2016.
Appointed to the board of Yoma Group in July 2015, Melvyn Pun is an Executive Director and the Chief Executive Officer of the Yoma Group. Prior to that, Melvyn was the Alternate Director to Serge Pun of Yoma Strategic and the Chief Executive Officer of Serge Pun & Associates. He began his career with Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong SAR where he was Managing Director, Head of Asia Ex-Japan Corporate Solutions Group. Melvyn was educated in the United Kingdom and graduated from University of Cambridge in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours), Master of Engineering and Master of Arts.
Alakesh Chetia has 30 years of experience in solar energy, semiconductor, software and computer systems. Immediately prior to co-founding Yoma Micro Power, he was President of Social Innovations and Managing Director of Rural Electrification at SunEdison. Prior to SunEdison, Alakesh held positions of Vice President and General Manager at Cypress Semiconductor, Chief Operating Officer at TransEDA and Chief Executive Officer at iMODL, while based in Silicon Valley, California. Alakesh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from NITK and a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Michigan Tech.
Pål Helgesen has 17 years of experience with energy investments in developing countries, including serving on boards of many companies. Formerly, he worked with strategy, acquisition, and business development at Det Norske Veritas, a technical risk management company with operations in more than 100 countries. Pål holds a Bachelor’s degree (honors) in Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering and an MBA from IESE Business School.