The Ashden Awards unveiled its winners at COP26 and four African climate innovators from Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo emerge as top honors.
Organized by a London-based organization that works in sustainable energy and development, the Ashden Awards celebrate pioneering organizations from the UK and low-income countries working to lower carbon emissions and build a safer world.
The startups were selected across three African countries; one from Kenya; two from Uganda; and one from the Democratic Republic of Congo. These startups will receive grants, recognition, and support will be provided to these winners in order to help them grow and duplicate their inventions.
From over 800 entries, the four winners and three runners-up were chosen for their work in building resilience, green economies – including jobs and training – and better communities.
YICE Uganda
YICE Uganda is a social enterprise that provides rural smallholder farmers in Uganda with access to regenerative agricultural training, flexible financial services, and permaculture practices for women, young people, and refugees in Uganda.
New Energy Nexus
A Ugandan startup, New Energy Nexus provides low-cost energy loans and mentoring to remote community-based enterprises, The firm won the Ashden Award for its Energy Access Innovation.
Mbou Mon Tour
Based in the Republic of Conga (DRC), Mbou Mon Tour will also get the Ashden Award for Natural Climate Solutions. The startup has created a unique community-based forest management strategy that integrates a variety of community revenue production plans to protect the endangered bonbo great ape.
Solar Freeze
The Ashden Award for Humanitarian Energy went to Solar freeze, a Kenyan organization that provides a sustainable and economical refrigeration service for food and medicine in refugee camps.
Three more African low-carbon pioneers, KOKO Networks and SNV from Kenya, and Sendea Academy from Uganda were named runners-up by Ashden.
KOKO Networks is a provider of ethanol ATMs, which give cleaner cooking fuel generated from waste from the sugar industry.
SNV is a Kakuma market-based energy access project that helps local clean energy businesses in the Kakuma refugee camp and their host community, with a focus on cooking and lighting.
The Sendea Academy is a collective of locally-owned SMEs driving up standards and providing training in the off-grid renewables sector.
