Katerina Kimmorley

Katerina Kimmorley is a passionate, self-driven impact entrepreneur and venture capitalist, whose pioneering work has made a significant difference to global poverty and climate change.

Katerina founded Pollinate Energy, an organisation which became the largest provider of solar lighting to slum communities across India and Nepal. She went on to be part of the founding team of the world’s largest Venture Capital Fund for Cleantech, the Innovation Fund and then to launch the Impact Fund – a Cleantech Impact investment Venture Capital fund which aims to bring Australia’s net emissions to zero. In the wake of Australia’s traumatising 2019/20 bushfires, Katerina began to shine a light on how businesses and communities can rise from the ashes to become a clean superpower.

An authentic speaker, Katerina tells her remarkable story of inspiration, self-sacrifice and self-belief.

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Katerina credits her family upbringing and schooling for instilling her deep sense of social justice. At school, she became the captain of social justice, where she was involved with many charities.

At University, Katerina studied photovoltaic engineering, and was awarded a Chevening and scholarship for her Masters & PhD in Environmental Economics and Climate Change at the London School of Economics (LSE).

In 2012, Katerina was able to put her studies to some serious practice by arranging solar lighting for an orphanage her friend was building in India. Realisation of the need to provide a whole end-to-end solution – technology, distribution and financing, led to the establishment of Pollinate Energy, without approaching the Indian or Australian governments for support.
Within six years of its establishment, Pollinate Energy had supplied over 27,200 environmentally efficient products, reaching over 123,600 individuals and servicing 970 communities in India.

While still involved in Pollinate Energy, Katerina was appointed Associate Director of the Innovation Fund at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

An economist by training, Katerina has advised the NSW Premier on Renewable Energy and Climate Change, has worked in management consulting, energy markets consulting and photovoltaic engineering.

A leading voice in the development of CleanTech in Australia and Asia, she has spoken for numerous businesses, conferences and universities internationally, including the United Nations where Pollinate Group won the Momentum for Change Award. She has been recognised as the Financial Review’s Australia’s 100 Women of Influence, was awarded the Prince Charles Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize and was the London School of Economics Entrepreneur of the Year.

Katerina is Head of Commercial and Investments at Boundless and is on the NSW Net Zero Emissions & Clean Economy Board.