•In the 2023 Ashden Awards announced on November 14 in London, Kenyan firm Usafi Green emerged as the best.
•The firm supplies affordable and low-carbon cookstoves in Kakuma Refugee Camp in a bid to curb climate change effects.
Image: ASHDEN
Kenya is among the countries in Africa that have won the Low Carbon Innovators awards.
In the 2023 Ashden Awards announced on November 14 in London, Kenyan firm Usafi Green emerged as the best.
The firm supplies affordable and low-carbon cookstoves in Kakuma Refugee Camp in a bid to curb climate change effects.
“This then creates work and improves health for displaced people and host communities,” Ashden CEO Ashok Sinha said during the awards.
This award comes in the backdrop of President William Ruto Championing for a greener environment to curb climate Change.
As Kenya declared November 13 Planting Tree Day, he called for concerted efforts in environmental protection.
The President appealed to Kenyans to support the government's tree-planting exercise to increase the country’s tree cover.
Apart from Kenya, other African countries that won the Ashden awards include; Nigeria, Uganda and Cameroon.
In a statement issued by the organisation, the countries were celebrated for driving radical progress in tackling clean energy, natural climate solutions and agriculture.
In Cameroon, the winner announced was CERAF-Nord, which supports communities to restore degraded land through agroforestry and bee-keeping.
“The importance of boosting jobs and skills was a key criterion in the awards,” the statement read in part.
In the Powering Futures in Clean Energy category, Burasolutions Solar Academy in Nigeria was celebrated for training women and marginalised people to join the clean energy workforce.
The Award for Integrated Energy Africa was won by Power for All, for its Utilities 2.0 Twaake project in Uganda.
Husk Power Systems received the Outstanding Achievement Award for its work in rapidly expanding community solar mini-grids in Africa and Asia.
Another win was Collectives for Integrated Livelihoods Initiatives (CINL) from India. CINL helps women in India's Central Tribal Belt use clean energy to raise their incomes – and become leaders in their communities.
Ashden CEO said the countries that have won have shown how people are passionate about creating practical solutions to the climate emergency.
“Whether using clean energy to power up a thriving business in Uganda or giving their time to restore rivers in the UK. And just look what happens as a result: higher incomes, better health, stronger communities and the creation of new jobs,” Sinha said.
However, he noted that these solutions need backing from government agencies.
“Our international winners are powering up farms and refugee camps, creating jobs for a clean energy future, and protecting threatened rainforests,” he said.
“It’s vital that increased funding reaches these climate heroes.”
Applications for the 2024 Ashden Awards will open online on November 15, 2023.
Returning award categories include powering refugees and displaced people, powering futures in clean energy, UK energy innovation, and natural climate solutions in the UK and Global South.
Next year’s categories will also include a Global South Energy innovation award, and a new People’s Energy award – celebrating community-focused initiatives in the UK.
Next year’s winners will be announced in June.