Whitney Pailman is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Imperial College London’s Centre for Environmental Policy, where her research focuses on the socio-economic impacts of solar mini-grids as part of the Ayrton Fund-funded Moving IMPACT project. Her research interests span energy access, mini-grid development, business and financing models, productive uses of energy, and sustainable energy transitions across Sub-Saharan Africa.

She has conducted research on energy access business models, financing approaches, and clean energy transitions across Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa. Prior to joining Imperial College London, Whitney held a British Academy Newton International Fellowship at the University of Exeter, where she led a study on Integrated Business Models for Off-grid Energy Access in Low-income Urban Settlements at the Grid’s Edge. As part of her fellowship research she examined financing models for off-grid innovations that support energy access and clean energy transitions in urban and other off-grid contexts.

Whitney holds a PhD in Energy and Development and a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Energy Studies from the University of Cape Town, and a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Civil Engineering from the University of Johannesburg. Her doctoral research explored integrated business and partnership models for energy access in Kenya and Rwanda.

Whitney has worked across research and development initiatives focused on sustainable energy access and clean energy transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa  and has contributed to several international interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary energy access research projects. She has served as a research collaborator for Transforming Energy Access (TEA), the Ayrton Fund research and innovation platform, conducting cross-cutting research on off-grid clean energy financing models to advance research and innovation for clean energy transitions.

She previously worked on the Newton Fund-supported Umbane project, which explored solar micro-grid innovation in an informal settlement in South Africa, and has contributed to research and policy-focused outputs, including reports for the UK Energy Research Centre. At the University of Exeter she has co-led engaged and participatory research with off-grid informal settlment communities, through the Exeter Engaged and Participatory Research fund, and solar micro-grid urban innovation pilots through Open Innovation Platform funding.