News & Stories
Milestones and stories from AEST's journey.
Latest Updates
Our News
Stories and milestones from AEST's journey.
December 27, 2016
Lessons from Three Social Entrepreneurs
The panel, 'From Idea to Impact: Lessons from Three Social Entrepreneurs' included Donna Brezinski, founder and CEO of Little Sparrows Technology; Khanjan Mehta, founding director of the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) Program; Betty Ikalany, founder and director of Appropriate Energy Saving Technologies; and MIT alumna Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola MBA '12.
Read the full story
March 11, 2017
Saving Forests, Supporting Women
In Uganda, Betty Ikalany of Appropriate Energy Saving Technology makes cooking briquettes from agricultural wastes so that women don't have to walk long distances for firewood.
Read More
March 11, 2017
Uganda Innovator & Clean Energy Champion
Founder and CEO of the Teso Women Development Initiatives (TEWDI), community organizer, clean energy champion, IDIN Network member, and single mother of two children, Betty Ikalany has her hands full. Betty grew up and lives in Soroti District in Northeastern Uganda where she found her passion for working with and for people living in poverty.
Read More
March 11, 2017
Women Are Changing the Household Energy Sector
Meet Betty Ikalany. Betty is the founder and CEO of AEST, a social enterprise that is creating transformational job opportunities for women in Uganda. Through the Alliance's Women's Empowerment Fund, Betty and AEST expanded production capacity, purchased new machinery, and strengthened their distribution network by training 55 new micro-entrepreneurs.
Read More
September 2, 2016
Never Stop Learning
In July 2015, I was honored to lead a delegation of enthusiastic Zambians to Uganda for knowledge sharing. We arrived in Kampala expecting to see and learn more about the active sector of briquetting and cook stove production. I considered it a privilege to be part of a team of three Zambian knowledge scouts.
Read More
September 2, 2016
Briquette Producer in Uganda Creates Livelihood Opportunities for Women
Supporting locally-run, woman-led businesses is a key element of the Alliance's gender strategy to increase the role of women in the sector. Through the Women's Empowerment Fund (WEF), the Alliance works with small and medium enterprises that are run by women, such as Appropriate Energy Saving Technologies.
Read More
September 2, 2016
Ugandan Develops Cooking Fuel to Save Trees
Firewood and charcoal is used by 97 per cent of Ugandans for cooking. Such demand has led to huge swathes of Uganda's forests being cut down. After studying for a master's degree in development studies, Betty Ikalany returned home.
Read More
September 6, 2016
Ugandan Entrepreneur Uses Briquettes to Address Gender and Development Issues
Betty Ikalany impressed us from day one when she contacted us to inform us she wished to start a briquette-making industry targeting some of Uganda's most vulnerable populations: women carrying the HIV/AIDS virus and the young unwed mothers that are often ostracized by society.
Read More
September 6, 2016
A Social Enterprise Is Not a Hospital — It's a Business!
Betty Ikalany graduated from the SE Outreach Accelerator one year ago and a lot has happened since then. She's won international awards, worked with MIT to develop her cookstoves and increased her sales by over 500%.
Read MoreStay in Touch
Questions About Any of These Stories?
Reach out to AEST directly — we are always glad to share more about our work.
