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New Energy World magazine logo
New Energy World magazine logo
ISSN 2753-7757 (Online)

Africa’s microgrid innovation champions

16/11/2022

6 min read

Feature

Young women in basic room holding WiFi equipment connected to solar power Photo: Ashden
Ashden Award winners are transformative climate change innovators like Kakuma Ventures, which provides refugees in the Kakuma Refugee Camp with access to the internet

Photo: Ashden

The 2022 Ashden Awards celebrate transformative climate change innovators and their clean tech solutions across the globe on the pathway to net zero in a just transition. New Energy World’s Brian Davis reports.

In the move towards a just transition for those communities and countries most impacted by climate change, the latest Ashden Award winners show how a new generation of climate champions ‘can rethink our approach to technology, community and inequality to tackle climate change’, according to musician Brian Eno at the recent awards ceremony.

 

A range of ground-breaking climate solutions was presented. The innovation was not simply a matter of introducing new technologies and services, but was also based on common diversity, equity and inclusion policies in developing communities and countries, particularly in Africa.

 

Energising refugee livelihoods  
Kenya-based Kakuma Ventures won a coveted Ashden Award for bringing solar-powered internet access to residents in one of the world’s largest refugee camps. The business was founded by refugee Innocent Tshilombo and supports entrepreneurs across the Kakuma camp to set up and manage WiFi hotspots in their neighbourhoods.

 

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