Jonathan Shaw

Jonathan Edward Shaw is the CEO and Co-Founder of Nuru, a pioneering solar-powered metrogrid company in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Born in Kenya to Canadian/American parents and raised in East Africa, Shaw holds a Master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He moved to Congo in 2013 to assist at the Université Chrétienne Bilingue du Congo (UCBC), where he initiated the university's research center. In 2015, he co-founded Nuru (meaning 'light' in Swahili), which deployed Congo's first commercial solar mini-grid in 2017. Under his leadership, Nuru has raised over $40 million in funding and is building Africa's largest mini-grid project, aiming to provide electricity to 5 million people. Shaw was named to TIME's 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders in 2025.