To our colleagues, business associates, alliances, partners and friends of SolarTurtle:
After more than a decade of working towards a vision of bringing renewable energy and a circular economy to those who need it most, us Founders, namely James Van Der Walt and Charlene Barnes have made a conscious decision to turn over a new leaf and hand over the reins to new leadership of remaining shareholder, Ms Lungelwa Tyali.
Looking back, as most will know I left my software engineering career during the course of 2011 and commenced on a journey which encompassed renewable energy with the aim of educating and providing awareness with regards to the entrepreneurial aspects within the renewable energy realm. My focus was the design of products and solutions for those with limited access to energy, especially those within hard to reach, inaccessible areas with limited energy infrastructure. Based on this vision, SolarTurtle was born. Charlene was brought on board shortly thereafter, bringing a range of skills and experience with regards to design, software and operations management. Together we utilized our passion of social business, technology and business skills for the conceptualization of the SolarTurtle brand, vision, mission and strategy.
This partnership has led SolarTurtle from success to success, along with the design and development of award winning products, including but not limited to the SolarTurtle Hubs, SolarTurtle Mini, SolarTurtle Sparks and SolarTurtle Software packages.
Having created and accomplished what we originally set out to achieve, both myself and Charlene have taken the decision to move on to new projects and adventures in line with our next passion. More details shall be furnished in this regard at a later stage. Both Charlene and I will continue to provide services to SolarTurtle as technical advisers/consultants with regards to hardware and software development and design.
Both myself and Charlene wishes SolarTurtle, its suppliers, staff, implementing agents and the like all the best for the future and hope that it will continue to flourish and carry on the legacy of creating a meaningful impact in people’s lives as well as drive awareness for the need to take care of the planet through the use of renewable energy resources and technology.
Yours faithfully.
James Vd Walt and Charlene Barnes
