Mashale Phumaphi is a Botswana engineer, investment banker and energy entrepreneur with more than 17 years of experience funding and developing energy projects across Africa and international markets.

He co-founded Shumba Coal in 2011, which later became Shumba Energy, building the company into one of Botswana’s prominent energy-resource businesses and securing listings on the Botswana Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Mauritius.

Within five years, Mashale Phumaphi grew the company’s asset portfolio from scratch to independently valued assets of more than $200 million, laying the foundation for a business spanning coal, power and renewable energy.

Today, he is CEO of Etavi Renewables, where he is focused on utility-scale clean-energy development across Southern Africa. His flagship project is the 100 MW Tati Solar PV Park in Botswana, linking his experience in capital raising and infrastructure development to the region’s growing renewable-energy market.

From engineering to natural-resources finance

Mashale Phumaphi began his professional career as an engineer at Debswana’s Jwaneng diamond mine, gaining technical experience in one of Botswana’s most important mining operations.

He later moved to London, where he worked for a corporate finance and issuing house specialising in natural resources. The role exposed him to investment analysis and the raising of debt and equity for projects across Africa, Europe and the Americas.

His technical and financial background would eventually shape his approach to energy entrepreneurship.

Mashale Phumaphi holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Sheffield and an Investment Management Certificate.

Building Shumba Energy

Mashale Phumaphi and Thapelo Mokhathi founded Shumba Coal in 2011 with the ambition of building a Botswana-controlled resource company around the country’s substantial coal reserves.

The company subsequently became Shumba Energy and expanded its portfolio beyond its early coal-exploration activities. It was listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange and later on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius, providing access to public capital markets as it pursued larger projects.

Shumba’s early strategy centred on acquiring and advancing coal assets capable of supporting Botswana’s domestic electricity market while creating opportunities for industrial use, exports and regional power generation.

Its portfolio grew to include assets such as the Sechaba Thermal Coal Project, Morupule South and Mabesekwa.

Mashale Phumaphi’s finance background became particularly valuable as the company moved from resource acquisition into project development, strategic partnerships and capital raising.

Turning coal resources into power

Rather than positioning Shumba solely as a coal-mining business, Mashale Phumaphi pursued opportunities across the wider energy value chain, including electricity generation and regional power markets.

The Mabesekwa coal-to-power project became one example of this strategy.

In 2018, Kibo Energy acquired an 85% interest in the project from a Shumba subsidiary through a transaction involving the issue of more than 153.7 million Kibo shares. Shumba received the majority of the shares, while Phumaphi personally received approximately 13.8 million Kibo shares and subsequently joined Kibo as a non-executive director.

The transaction showed how Phumaphi used strategic partnerships and equity transactions to advance capital-intensive projects.

Shumba has also continued to develop Morupule South, one of its major coal resources, with potential applications spanning domestic power generation, industrial use and exports.

Moving into renewable energy

Phumaphi’s latest phase as an energy entrepreneur is increasingly centred on renewable power.

As CEO of Etavi Renewables, he is leading the development of utility-scale clean-energy projects designed to serve Southern Africa’s expanding electricity requirements.

The company’s flagship development is the 100 MW Tati Solar PV Park near Francistown in Botswana.

The project is being developed for participation in the Southern African Power Pool and involves international partners, positioning it to serve the wider regional electricity market.

RMB acted as sole Initial Mandated Lead Arranger for the project financing. By 2026, Tati Solar had reached financial close and moved into construction, with commercial operations targeted for 2027.

The project represents an investment of more than BWP1 billion and is expected to create approximately 600 construction jobs.

For Phumaphi, Tati Solar represents a new application of the project-financing and capital-raising expertise that helped build his earlier energy ventures, this time in Botswana’s emerging renewable-power market.

Creating separate platforms for energy opportunities

Phumaphi’s expansion into renewables has also involved separating clean-energy opportunities from his coal-focused interests.

Shumba established Asase Investments as a vehicle for renewable-energy opportunities before pursuing a separation of the renewable platform from its coal-focused parent.

The structure allows the renewable business to pursue investors and financing sources with a specific focus on clean-energy infrastructure, while Shumba continues to develop its traditional energy assets.

The result is a portfolio that reflects the different stages of Botswana’s energy economy, spanning coal resources, thermal power, renewable generation and regional electricity markets.

Building wealth through ownership

Phumaphi’s most visible investment has historically been his interest in Shumba Energy.

Historical company disclosures showed Black Phoenix Limited holding 73.24 million Shumba shares, equivalent to approximately 25% of the company at various points.

His corporate interests and connections have extended across businesses involved in coal mining, thermal energy, renewable power and project development, including Morupule South Resources, Kibo Energy Botswana, Lurco Thermal, Asase Investments, Etavi Renewables and Tati Solar.

From financier to energy developer

Phumaphi’s career has followed a distinctive path: from engineering at Botswana’s Jwaneng diamond mine, to natural-resources finance in London, and then to building and financing energy projects of his own.

At Shumba, he helped turn coal resources into an investable energy platform through acquisitions, public-market access, strategic partnerships and project development. At Etavi, that model is being applied to renewable infrastructure.

The 100 MW Tati Solar project could become one of the defining projects of his career as it moves from development into construction and, ultimately, power generation.

Phumaphi’s journey mirrors the transformation underway in Botswana’s energy sector itself. He began his career working around the country’s mineral resources, built an energy business around coal and power, and is now positioning himself in the renewable-energy market.

The next stage will be measured by his ability to turn that portfolio of projects into operating assets and sustainable businesses as Botswana and the wider Southern African region seek greater energy security, private investment and cleaner sources of electricity.