Arnold Nyendwa

Arnold Nyendwa is an award-winning Zambian entrepreneur, inventor, and Founder & CEO of AFNON Tech Industries Limited, a clean technology company at the forefront of Africa’s green industrial transformation. He is widely recognized for his innovative leadership in designing sustainable, affordable, and scalable clean cooking technologies to address some of the most pressing issues across the African continent — including deforestation, indoor air pollution, energy poverty, and youth unemployment.

Arnold’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2015 at the age of 18 during Zambia’s severe electricity crisis. Faced with months of blackouts and the widespread reliance on harmful fuels like firewood and charcoal, he saw an opportunity to create an alternative. Using scrap materials from an abandoned school locker, he built a prototype of what would later become the Juvin 3-in-1 hybrid clean cookstove — a stainless-steel stove that operates on gas, electricity, and biomass pellets. His solution has since evolved into a globally recognized innovation that has reached over 8,000 households across Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and beyond.

Today, Arnold is leading AFNON in building Africa’s largest stove manufacturing factory, known as The Landmark Factory, located in Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia. The factory launched with a groundbreaking ceremony on March 3, 2025 is expected to produce up to 1 million clean stoves per month and create 3,000 direct jobs, with 80% of the output targeting export markets across COMESA, SADC, and global regions. The factory is a US$200 million investment that will not only reduce reliance on imported stoves but also stimulate local supply chains, empower smallholder suppliers, and increase access to clean cooking solutions for millions.

Arnold’s innovation and impact have earned him prestigious recognition, including:

Winner of the Sir Henry Royce Medal by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), UK the first African entrepreneur to receive this honor.

Top 30 Finalist in the WIPO Global Awards 2025 (World Intellectual Property Organization) the first and only Zambian and African company selected from 780 applications in 95 countries.

Holder of the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label, recognized for environmental and economic viability.

Top 15 Business under 40 in Africa by the UNDP Africa Regional Office, under the AfCFTA Youth Program.

Featured in global media, including BBC News, Voice of America, Africa Equity News, BET Africa, and Africa 54.

Arnold’s mission extends beyond product innovation. Under his leadership, AFNON has committed to:

Training and supporting over 100 green entrepreneurs and micro-distributors, especially youth and women.

Partnering with international bodies like UNDP, Zambia Development Agency (ZDA), and Solar Impulse Foundation to scale impact.

Developing a pipeline of clean energy products including clean-burning briquettes, solar-integrated cooking solutions, and eventually local manufacturing of other appliances such as electric kettles and refrigerators.

Arnold is a passionate advocate for industrialization, climate action, and youth empowerment in Africa. He believes entrepreneurship is the engine that will power sustainable development on the continent. His business strategy aligns with Zambia’s 8th National Development Plan, Vision 2030, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

His work proves that with vision, resilience, and community-driven innovation, young Africans can lead solutions to global challenges while creating jobs, protecting the environment, and uplifting marginalized communities.

With over 40 national and international awards to his name, Arnold continues to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs across Africa to dream boldly, solve locally, and scale globally. His journey from a young innovator in Chipata to a global industrial trailblazer makes him a powerful fit for the Global Entrepreneurship Network, where he hopes to collaborate, learn, and expand AFNON’s mission to more countries in need of clean, dignified, and climate-friendly energy access.