Deborah Gaël

Deborah Gaël
Born1986 (age 39–40)
Saint-Claude, Guadeloupe
CitizenshipFrench
Alma mater
OccupationBusiness executive
Years active2018- present
Known forClean Tech
TitleCo-founder and COO at Koolboks
Websitehttps://koolboks.com/

Deborah Gaël (born 1986) is a French entrepreneur and business executive. She is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Koolboks, a French climate-tech company that develops solar-powered refrigeration solutions for off-grid and weak-grid communities across Africa.[1][2]

Gaël was born in Saint-Claude, Guadeloupe, she was raised in Basse-Terre, the capital city of Guadeloupe. Before 2018, she held human resources and operational roles at BNP Paribas, American Express, Fluor Corporation and Société Générale. She was recognized for her work as a finalist in the 2021 VivaTech Female Founder Challenge and as a 2025 nominee for the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award.[3]

Biography

Gaël was born in 1986 in Saint-Claude, Guadeloupe, France, and was educated in Guadeloupe. After completing high school, she pursued further studies in Barbados, Trinidad, and England. Gaël studied Applied Foreign Languages at Paris Nanterre University, graduating in 2011.[4] She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from the University of Southampton and completed a Master's degree in Human Resources and Labour Relations at ISGP Paris in 2012. In 2025, she enrolled in the Global Executive MBA (GEMBA) program at INSEAD.[5]

Career

Early career

In 2008 Gaël began as a teacher at the British Council until 2010. She subsequently held a series of human resources roles in Paris, including HR Project Management Junior at CANSPEAK, HR Assistant at Société Générale in 2012, International Mobility Officer at Fluor Corporation, HR Officer at American Express from 2013 to 2016, and HR Business Partner at Symag by Wynd between 2016 and 2019.[5]

Koolboks

In 2018, Gaël co-founded Koolboks with Ayoola Dominic, a French-based company that manufactures solar-powered freezers and ice makers designed for Off-the-grid and weak-grid areas in Africa.[6][7] It combining its cooling technology with pay-as-you-go financing and IoT-enabled monitoring systems.[8][9] As COO, Gaël has overseen the company's operations and expansion as Koolboks grew across African markets.

Koolboks launched initiatives including Koolbuy and Scrap4New.[10] In 2023, Koolboks signed a partnership with Fan Milk Danone Nigeria to pilot freezers in Lagos under a Cooling-as-a-Service model, and partnered with Orange Energies to expand solar refrigeration access across 12 African countries.[11] In the same year, Koolboks listed on the Cleantech 50 to Watch at Cleantech Forum Europe in Tallinn, Estonia.[12]

In 2024, The company was named "Ultimate Challenger" at the Food Tech Challengers awards.[13] In the same year, Koolboks was named finalist for the Zayed Sustainability Prize.[14] In 2025, the company announced the launch of PowerFoot Pedestal, a solar system that turns any freezer into a fully off-grid appliance and also unveiled Nollywood actress Mercy Johnson as a brand ambassador.[15] Koolboks won the Start-Up Energy Transition Award in the same year.[16] In 2026, co-founder Gaël featured at the Austrian World Summit in Vienna, where she delivered a keynote on sustainable cooling in Africa.[17]

Recognition

  • 2021: Gaël named finalist in VivaTech Female Founder Challenge (Paris).[18]
  • 2025: Gaël nominated for the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award.[3]
  • 2025: Named by Bloomberg among the 25 African Startups to Watch in 2025.[19]
  • 2026: Koolboks recognized by Fast Company among the Most Innovative Companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Jaulinaud, Gnonzion Willson (10 October 2025). "HOW SOLAR REFRIGERATION IS TRANSFORMING LIFE IN AFRI- impose". impose-ci.com (in French). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  2. ↑ AfricaPresse.Paris (10 April 2023). "Deborah GAEL, cofondatrice de Koolboks : « Notre innovation technologique s'avère plus qu'utile au Nigeria, et demain dans toute l'Afrique »". AfricaPresse.Paris (in French). Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Meet the 2025 Pritzker Environmental Genius Award candidates #1–5". griffith journal. 31 July 2025.
  4. ↑ "D'ici et ailleurs : la vie de Déborah Gaël au Nigéria". Guadeloupe La 1ère (in French). Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Deborah Gael". Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "From Paris to the Land of Innovation: Deborah's Koolboks Chinese Adventure - Koolboks Nigeria". 25 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  7. ↑ Nigeria, Guardian (17 September 2020). "Firm moves to change cooling system narrative In Nigeria". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "Africa's Business Heroes". Africa's Business Heroes (in French). Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  9. ↑ dgunatilake@gsma.com (4 October 2022). "Introducing Koolboks: Pay-as-you-go solar refrigeration in Nigeria". Mobile for Development. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Okoroafor, Chinyere (5 June 2025). "'Koolbuy is our response to lack of cooling systems in homes'". The Nation. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  11. ↑ redaction. "Orange, Koolboks introduce solar freezers in DR Congo, target 11 other markets". www.wearetech.africa (in French). Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Koolboks Named on the 2023 Cleantech 50 - Koolboks Uganda". 11 November 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Previous Editions & Winners | Food Tech Challengers". foodtechchallengers.com. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "Zayed Sustainability Prize Announces 33 Finalists Advancing Global Sustainability Initiatives".
  15. ↑ Nwafor, Arinze (5 June 2025). "Firm unveils cooling platform". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  16. ↑ Feierabend, Niklas (19 March 2025). "The SET Award Winners 2025". Start Up Energy Transition. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  17. ↑ The Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative (26 June 2026). Driving the Change: Next-Gen Climate Leadership | Real-World Solutions | AUSTRIAN WORLD SUMMIT 2026. Retrieved 9 July 2026 – via YouTube.
  18. ↑ "VivaTech : les finalistes du Female Founder Challenge". L'ADN (in French). 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "25 African Startups to Watch in 2025". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2026. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  20. ↑ Katerina, Barton. "The most innovative companies in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for 2026".
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