Introducing Robert Kabera: CEO at Credimarks

From Genocide Survivor to Making Global Impact via Climate and Energy Resiliency

Robert Kabera is a native of Rwanda, where he and his family lived through the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He and his family spent six years in refugee camps. He was 11 when they were resettled in Memphis, Tennessee. After attending & graduating from Stanford, Robert founded an alternative credit rating agency Credimarks in Ghana, with the objective of helping to extend credit into traditionally underserved markets. He has helped over 50 energy companies in nine countries provide cleantech to 6,000 people living off the electricity grid. Robert also served as the Chief Consultant for the United States Africa Development Foundation (USADF) energy investment portfolio under the Obama Administration’s Power Africa Program. In 2018, he was added to the Global US Forbes 30 Under 30 List in the Energy Sector for his industry work and research.

Robert lived an idyllic life as the last child of his parents in Rwanda; he recounted those times with fondness before the genocide broke out. From that moment onwards, life took an uncertain turn; but surprisingly, uncertainty became his compass, guiding him to the man he has become. He admitted to not visiting Rwanda after the war despite the many developments that have since taken place. Robert, currently based in Ghana, said that by not having ties to Rwanda, he could exhibit Pan-Africanism and affinity to the entire continent.

Like many others who have encountered life-changing events such as a war, the experience holds immense significance to them. Through his father’s action of kindness to people of the opposing tribe, Robert learned to serve others with his skills; he also learned the importance of team spirit, working together to achieve a common goal. Finally, Robert learned that hardship could either crush or refine a person. To him, the war experience was a blessing through which he built resilience and a mindset that nothing could get in his way. It was with this survival mindset that he approached his academics as well. Despite being bullied by his…