Vahid Fotuhi and Access Power

We had the first meeting of our trip with Access Power in Dubai, where we had the opportunity to meet with Vahid Fotuhi, board director of Access Power and a SAIS alum. Mr. Fotuhi has a background in oil and gas, having held senior positions with BP in Europe and North Africa. He went on to head BP Solar’s MENA division. He is also the President of the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA). Prior to BP, he held leadership roles with Energy Intelligence and WEF. Access Power believes that providing access to electricity for households and small and medium sized businesses is key to alleviating poverty and reducing wealth inequality. Their projects aim to deliver affordable power to villages and rural communities where this impact is greatest. The projects Access Power takes on provide jobs and training to individuals and local firms, while increasing foreign direct investment and tax revenue for the host government of the project. Mr. Fotuhi told us that Access Power used to be more of an advisory firm and later transitioned to ownership and operations. Mr. Votuhi spoke to us on a more personal level and told us that, had it not been for a fellow SAISer, he would not have been able to get his first project off the ground in Africa. He was able to leverage his SAIS connection in Africa to network in the community in which he wanted to start his project. He was eventually successful in that project and it led to more connections in the region. He told us about the different types of deals Access Power does with its clients and the different payout methods. He emphasized Dubai as the global hub for emerging markets and the ease of his work due to Dubai’s strategic geographical location between the East and the West. Our trip to Access Power was rewarding in two regards: first, we were able to learn more about Dubai as the hub for much of the work done in emerging markets and second, we got to hear about all this coming from a successful and inspiring SAIS alum!

~Lena Abdin, second year Middle East Studies concentrator, SAIS