Getting the show on the road
Image: Julian Mensah founder of Voltric. Photo credit BSWN 2022
As part of Black History Month 2022, we are spotlighting individuals working around the following themes:
- Skills
- Innovation
- Research
- Business
This week we are focusing on Business:
UWE Alumni and Green Skills speaker Julian Mensah is Founder of Electric vehicle (EV) subscription service Voltric, whose aim is to remove barriers to reducing car emissions, making it more practical, cost effective and efficient to access green sustainable transport.
Along with Co-founder Brent Oldfield, another UWE Alumni, Voltric has gone from a concept and two Renault vehicle three years ago to expecting a total fleet of over 200 by the end of December, with plans to expand this to 1000 cars on the road next year, including models from Tesla, Mercedes, Renault and MG.
The idea for Voltric came from the creation of a business plan for Julian’s MA in Marketing at UWE in 2018, he wrote about electric cars and the business around supporting the transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. Redundancy from a Product Management position encouraged him to revisit the business plan, which had never been far from his mind. Following a meeting with his Marketing Lecturer and an introduction to UWE’s Team Entrepreneurship he met business partner Brent, a student on the course.
He has been involved as an inspirational speaker from the outset on Green Skills for Jobs and Entrepreneurship, a transformational programme delivered by UWE in partnership with Black South West Network and NatWest. Aimed at increasing accessibility, knowledge and awareness of opportunities in the Green Sector. The sessions have been such a success that Voltric will be welcoming three fully paid Interns into their business under the Green Skills programme this year, giving them valuable experience in green technology.
“If I can inspire and encourage Black and minoritised young people to think about the opportunities around tech and where that can take them, that’s not only something that benefits them individually, it ultimately benefits the whole community.”
“And I love that on Green Skills we’re talking not only about business, but about sustainability as a whole, how we can live in a sustainable manner.”
“If I was going to give any advice to myself before starting on my business journey, it would be to celebrate the small wins along the way. My life is so busy, being involved with Green Skills and connecting with the young Learners has been so enjoyable. It’s different from my every day and has helped me to reflect on all the successes we’ve had so far at Voltric and those to come in the future.”