Michigan Female Business Owner Supports 1800 Women Owned Businesses in Africa During the Global Pandemic with Mana Boxes — Michelle Klassen Merrigan

Michelle Klassen (“MK”) Merrigan began her career in humanitarian aid, working frequently in the developing world. For the past decade, MK led the development of advanced energy solutions that meet the mission of US military, security, and peacekeeping forces operating beyond secure supply lines. Opening up new markets with creative capital, this work quickly led to border security in support of national security interests; economic development efforts through small business models at the last kilometer; and in developing regions and markets.

Beholden to the idea that if Detroit could put a car in every driveway, we could also provide power as an economic enabler, in every region of the world. MK led a diverse team from a small prototype shop in Ferndale, Michigan. This team is responsible for some of the energy industry’s most incredible firsts, including the first off-grid solar microgrid of its size providing 24/7 power to a Haitian village, in Les Anglais, Haiti, as well as the first off-grid environmental monitoring system for use by a major American power utility, in the California desert.