Job Title: CFO
Company: African Clean Energy (ACE)
Ernst Vriesendorp is the CFO of African Clean Energy (ACE).
He began his career as an analyst at Merrill Lynch in London from 2007 to 2009, before moving to the Royal Bank of Scotland in Amsterdam, where he held a similar role until 2011. He then joined Asilia Africa as a finance and business development manager from December 2013 to February 2015.
In the same year, he founded Bouwsteen Consulting, which he led through 2020, while also establishing Bouwsteen Investments, where he served as founder and managing director until December 2022.
During this period, he took on CFO roles at Oedipus Brewing between February 2020 and June 2021, eventually becoming CFO/COO for the brewery from March to August 2021. He later joined Impact Hub Amsterdam as director and CFO, a role he held from May 2021 to November 2022, and served as chairman of the board at The New Normal Foundation between September 2019 and June 2022.
In June 2022, Ernst joined SolarNow BV as director and CFO, later expanding his role to include COO responsibilities in January 2023. Between August 2024 and February 2025, he also served as interim managing director for BURN in Nairobi.
Work experience
Jan 2023 - Present: director and CFO/COO, SolarNow BV
Jun 2022 - Jan 2023: director and CFO, SolarNow BV
Aug 2024 - Feb 2025: managing director - Africa (interim), BURN (Nairobi, Kenya)
Feb 2015 - Dec 2022: founder and managing director, Bouwsteen Investments
May 2021 - Nov 2022: director and CFO, Impact Hub Amsterdam
Sep 2019 - Jun 2022: chairman of the board (voluntary), The New Normal Foundation
Mar 2021 - Aug 2021: CFO/COO, Oedipus Brewing
Feb 2020 - Jun 2021: CFO, Oedipus Brewing
Feb 2015 - Feb 2020: founder, Bouwsteen Consulting
Dec 2013 - Feb 2015: finance and business development manager, Asilia Africa
Jun 2012 - Aug 2012: PWM - business manager - MBA summer associate, Credit Suisse
Jan 2010 - Sep 2011: analyst, Royal Bank of Scotland (Amsterdam)
Sep 2007 - Sep 2009: analyst, Merrill Lynch (London)
Education
Oct 2021: In-Depth Impact Measurement & Management Online Training, EVPA Training Academy
2011-2012: International MBA, IE Business School (Focus: Management Control & International Business Economics)
2008: Certificate in Investments (Securities & Financial Derivatives), CISI
2000-2007: M.Sc. in Accountancy and Control, University of Amsterdam
2006: Summer Course in Managerial Economics, London School of Economics
African Clean Energy
African Clean Energy (ACE) is a B-Corp certified enterprise that produces a solar-biomass hybrid energy system. Its mission is to eradicate the catastrophic effects of traditional cooking and heating methods on health, environment, and poverty in developing countries around the world.
