Crispen is Principal Energy Advisor at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) based in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, seconded by the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP). Before that he was based at the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Crispen has over 30 years working experience in development programmes, mainly in Africa. In 2017 and 2018 he managed a project on capacity building in policy and regulatory framework for clean energy mini-grids and developing toolbox on tariff calculation for renewable energy projects in West African Countries (ECOWAS). During the same period, he was partly the interim Head of the AEEP Secretariat based in GIZ HQ in Bonn, Germany. Between 2013 and 2016 he worked as Senior Energy Advisor to the Infrastructure and Energy Department (IED) of the African Union Commission (AUC) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Prior to that he worked in various development programmes in Southern Africa (mainly in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe) dealing with rural infrastructure development with emphasis on decentralized and household energy, food storage and processing, rural social infrastructure, water and sanitation mainly under GIZ, in programs co-financed by the EU, UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, etc.

Crispen has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Hannover University of Applied Sciences, Germany and MBA in Renewables from Beuth University, Berlin, Germany. He speaks English, German, Portuguese, Shona and a bit of French.

In line with the priority areas of the African Union and European partners, Crispen is currently focusing on innovative and politically relevant topics for increasing the renewable energy mix in the regional and continental energy balance, investment in decentralized renewable energy (DRE) systems for reaching the last mile, productive use of energy and job creation and gender.

Crispen is a panellist at the AIX Power & Renewables meeting on 17-18 November 2021.