Two Kenyan firms are among six clean energy innovators who made it to the top six of this year s Ashden Awards. The list of six was announced on July 1 at the end of the International London Climate Action Week conference.
Kakuma Ventures has earned recognition for creating clean energy, Internet connections and new jobs for refugee camp residents while SokoFresh has been chosen to provide affordable and sustainable cooling solutions for small-scale farmers in Kenya.
Among the six finals are four drawn from African countries Kenya, Togo and Zimbabwe. Six of 11 were selected for the contest out of an initial 148 award applicants. Togo's Energy Generation and Zimbabwe's Zonful were picked for their efforts to help young people and women get access to the necessary skills and opportunities for developing a future clean power sector.
Other on the list are Imece Initiative from Turkey and Collectives for Integrated Livelihoods Initiatives CINI from India.
In a statement, Ashden CEO Harriet Lamb praised African climate innovators for their efforts in reducing carbon emissions.
With the crucial COP 27 climate talks taking place in Africa in November, it is great to see the continent's dynamic innovators showing how climate solutions can lower emissions and also create work and reach the most disadvantaged. These innovators are taking advantage of the youth population's enormous potential, said Lamb.
Solar Freeze, a Kenyan refrigeration service provider, was among the award winners for clean energy and affordable refrigeration solutions for food and medicine in refugee camps last year.
The Humanitarian Energy Award was handed over to the firm in a ceremony held on the sidelines of the COP 26 global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. Ashden has been active in supporting climate and energy innovators in low-income countries and the UK since 2001.
The finalists will be judged by international specialists on each award category and will receive financial and strategic support.