BC Business
Yasmin Abraham, president of Kambo Energy Group, is a runner-up of the Diversity and inclusion champion category of the 2024 Women of the Year Awards
Kambo Energy Group is a second-generation business, but taking over for her father wasn’t always Yasmin Abraham’s plan. She started her post-secondary education in molecular biology, then worked for a couple of tech startups before getting her MBA. Even when her dad, Areef Abraham, offered her some work at Kambo, she didn’t seriously consider a career in the family business. “I was like, ‘Okay Dad, I’ll help you and then I’ll go get a real job,’” she recalls with a laugh.
But then: light-bulb moment. “I learned my dad was amazing,” says Abraham. Based in Vancouver, Kambo Energy Group works to address equity gaps in the climate sector (think multilingual education for energy efficiency at home, improving community housing for Indigenous nations and subsidizing energy retrofits for low-income households). “I fell in love with the work, with creating a service that has a real social good attached to it,” she explains. “It’s not only about supporting the climate, but also about righting some of the historic wrongs of our society.”
Since Abraham and her brother Karim took the reins in 2018 (she’s president, he’s CEO), the company has expanded into Alberta and Washington, and Kambo’s programming will soon be available in Saskatchewan and Toronto. Climate programming is more accessible than ever for immigrant, BIPOC and underserved communities. “Now, I feel so grateful that this is my life’s work,” says Abraham. “I don’t think I could ever do anything else.”