Tanaka Casandra Shumba

Tanaka joined Sustainable Energy Africa in 2018. She obtained a BSc and MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town. During her studies, Tanaka joined Engineers without Borders through which she developed a passion for using renewable energy to alleviate poverty. In order to pursue this, she enrolled in a Post-Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Development at the University of Stellenbosch where she gained better understanding of the different challenges that plague society, and some of the solutions that are currently being implemented. This experience further encouraged her to use her skills and expertise to bring positive change in society. Prior to joining SEA, Tanaka worked as a junior project engineer at SustNet where she contributed towards a feasibility study for the development of a waste to energy hub in the Western Cape. This included assisting in the design and fabrication of technology and conducting commissioning and optimisation tests.

Tanaka is very passionate about gender equality and has served as a mentor for SAWomEng’s GirlEng team, which focused on encouraging female high school learners to pursue careers in Science and Engineering.