Kenyan enterprises shine at global green awards

Charcoal jikos on display at Teddy Kinyanjui's workshop in Nairobi's Kabete on April 23, 2012. The home-grown cook stove business has made it to the final list of the prestigious Ashden Awards, one of the world’s leading green energy prize. Diana Ngila 

By NEVILLE OTUKI

Africa has stolen the show in this year’s green energy awards with five out of the seven finalists selected for the top prize coming from the continent.

The annual award has placed Kenya in good stead with two items making the cut. The two –Cookswell Jikos and Azuri Technologies – are both angling for a Sh5.1 million top prize set for June 20.

The award, known as Ashden, seeks to encourage greater use of sustainable energy to reduce poverty and tackle climate change.

Cookswell Jikos, develops charcoal-saving ceramic Jikos for sale and also promotes commercial reforestation and efficient charcoal production.

“We are very pleased to have been selected as an Ashden finalist. Cookswell Jikos provide quality and durable products and also saves energy,” Cookswell co-founder, Teddy Kinyanjui said.

Ashden Founder Sarah Butler-Sloss congratulated Cookswell Jikos saying it has a tried-and-tested model for protecting forests and improving health.

“Its ‘seed to ash’ approach demonstrates a true commitment to a sustainable environment,” Ms Sloss said.

On the other hand, Azuri Technologies: pay-as-you-go solar for Kenyan homes provides quality light and phone charging to households not connected to the power grid. The entreprise has enabled households to enjoy prepaid services for solar using scratch cards.

The other finalist, Impact Carbon from Uganda, works with life-saving stove and water filter entreprises in accessing carbon finance. The entreprise seeks to make safe and efficient products more affordable to Ugandans.

WWF-DRC from Democratic Republic of Congo develops grassroots cook stoves with the aim of protecting forests besides providing affordable sources of clean energy.

The SolarAid, a joint initiative, cuts across four East Africa’s countries namely Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Kenya. SolarAids aims at phasing out kerosene lamps in Africa by 2020 through provision of good quality and affordable lights to families.

This project has enabled children to study in the evenings at a low cost.
More than 140 enterprises have since won the Ashden Award since its inception in 2001.