Building Southeast Asia’s clean energy entrepreneurs

Feature Story

NEW ENERGY NEXUS

Building Southeast Asia’s clean energy entrepreneurs

Solar energy was never part of Jose Hermis G. Magallanes Jr.’s plan. Living and working in Australia, he found himself trying to solve a problem unfolding thousands of kilometres away, where frequent power interruptions had become a familiar reality for his family in Davao, the Philippines.

“It started as a way to solve a problem at home. When the power kept going out and the bills kept rising, I just wanted something more reliable for my family. Now it’s something I love doing, and it’s just the beginning.”

Jose Hermis G. Magallanes Jr., Solar Installation and Business Training 2025 Graduate and Founder of Budget Solar Solutions

A portable solar power station offered some relief, but not enough. So Jose began buying components one piece at a time, teaching himself how to assemble a solar system that could keep the lights on. When it was finally switched on, his family’s monthly electricity bill fell by more than half.

For Jose, the experience revealed an unexpected opportunity. If he could build a renewable energy system for his own family, perhaps he could do the same for others. But like many aspiring entrepreneurs across Southeast Asia, turning practical know-how into a business required a different set of skills.

That challenge sits at the heart of the region’s clean energy transition. As demand for renewable energy grows, the shortage is no longer just one of technology, but of the skilled people who can install it, maintain it and build businesses around it. Many do not come from the renewable energy sector. They arrive from engineering, electrical trades and entirely different professions, discovering solar while solving practical problems much closer to home.

Recognising this gap, New Energy Nexus created its flagship New Energy Skills programme, combining hands-on technical training with business and market readiness to help participants move into employment and entrepreneurship.

For Jose, the programme became the bridge between a personal project and a profession. He went on to launch Budget Solar Solutions, securing projects across Davao and Samal Island and installing more than 12 kilowatts of off-grid solar capacity within months.

For Jose, the biggest change was not simply learning how to install solar systems, but recognising that the skills he had patiently built could become the foundation of a business.

Across Asia, stories like Jose’s suggest that the clean energy transition will depend as much on developing people as deploying technology or advocating policy. Every entrepreneur trained, every installer certified and every business launched strengthens the workforce that will ultimately power the region’s clean energy future.

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