International Solar Alliance announces 20 winners of its SolarX Start-Up Challenge; holds accelerator workshop

Elias Hakizimana Sep 3, 2023 0 Comments

By The Inspirer.

3 Rwandan companies among the winners
7 companies from African countries are women led
ISA’s ambition is to prepare the SolarX winners the Amazons of solar industry

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) announced the winners of its SolarX Startup Challenge, the ceremony took place in Kigali on September 2, 2023.

After a rigorous selection process, 20 companies from 10 African nations were declared winners. Notably, seven of these startups are led by women entrepreneurs. Maximum number of winning companies belong to Kenya with 4. Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda have 3 winning companies each. Rwandan companies Centennial Power Limited, OffGridBox Rwanda Limited and STES Group Limited are among the winners.

The SolarX Startup Challenge was launched by the ISA, an inter-governmental organisation with 116 member countries at the COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. This initiative is aimed to promote entrepreneurship and advance clean energy in Africa. Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, ISA, said, “With an estimated potential of 7,900 GW of solar in Africa, and only 4 African nations having a startup ecosystem, there is a yawning gap between what is needed and what is available. African startups attracted less than 1% of global venture investments. With SolarX, we aim to change this scenario. I hope these SolarX winners become the amazons of tomorrow and ISA will be supporting them in their crucial work.”

The SolarX Startup Challenge received 182 applications from 28 countries, such as Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, India, Israel, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America, Zambia, and Zimbabwe— highlighting its significance in addressing the pressing challenges of the solar sector. Dr Mathur further said, “Entrepreneurship and finance will be essential drivers of progress in solar deployment for climate action. They are crucial for fostering technological advancements, cost reductions, market growth, job creation, energy independence, environmental sustainability, and scalability. By supporting entrepreneurial ventures, ISA will facilitate the unlocking of the full potential of solar energy, facilitating the transition to a sustainable and low-carbon future.”

The three Rwandan winners Centennial Power Limited and OffGridBox Rwanda Limited, were awarded a cash grant of USD 15,000 and will be supported with an accelerator programme and provided access to market for scaling up their solutions. Comprehensive support will be provided by the ISA, Invest India, WAIPA, GOGLA, and other associated organizations. Centennial Power Limited, based in Rwanda, is a vertically-integrated team of engineers, project managers, and sales professionals specializing in affordable and reliable power supply for vaccine cold storage facilities across Africa. With a robust project pipeline, they offer economies of scale for equipment and financing. By displacing diesel generators with battery storage systems, Centennial addresses the challenge of preserving vaccines in African countries, reducing operational costs, and environmental impact.

Jean Pierre Murenzi, Director of Electrical Engineering, Centennial Power Limited, said that the company “is using innovative solar technologies to help health facilities around the African continent, preserve and maintain vaccines. We are doing that by proving reliable power supply to the cold storage used to store the vaccines, reduce the energy operational cost and reduce the need of diesel generators to back up power supply.”

OffGridBox Rwanda Limited is a pioneering company dedicated to addressing the global challenge of inadequate access to safe water and energy. With a team boasting over 60 years of combined solar expertise across 15 countries, they offer affordable clean water and renewable energy solutions, bolstering communities against climate change impacts.

OffGridBox offers an integrated solution encompassing water, hydrogen, and solar technologies, along with a patented hydrogen nozzle, aiming to achieve a negative carbon footprint, making it unique in the market. Emiliano Cecchini, President and CTO at OffGridBox, speaking about potential of the technology said, “We are very excited about this hydrogen obtained by sun and pure water, allowing communities to save money and increase the standard of their living in a very affordable way.”

STES Group Limited is a team of experts in IoT, solar technology, and emerging technologies. Their flagship product, BazaFarm, is a solar-powered IoT system with sensors that measure soil parameters. Data is sent to the cloud for analysis and displayed on a web or mobile dashboard. BazaFarm optimizes crop yields, reduces waste, and minimizes environmental impact. It measures soil moisture, temperature, conductivity, fertilizer levels, and pH with 95% accuracy. This technology improves water management and boosts yield by 13%. BazaFarm is suitable for African rural areas, with a local language interface, designed and made by local youth engineers at STES Group Ltd.

In line with the commitment to nurture these ground-breaking startups, ISA, in collaboration with Invest India, hosted the first Acceleration Programme Workshop for the winning start-ups in Kigali, Rwanda. The workshop encompassed both virtual and physical components to ensure accessibility to all finalists. The programme addressed guidance related to business development and access to finance, providing these startups with the tools needed to drive the implementation of their innovative solutions.

Rwanda possesses a significant solar energy advantage with a solar irradiation level of 4.9kWh/m²/day and a specific yield of 4.1kWh/kWp/day indicating strong technical feasibility for solar in the country. However, while progress is evident, there is still a considerable journey ahead. As of 2020, only 46.6% of the population had access to electricity, with per capita consumption at a mere 0.06MWh, significantly below the global average of 3.32MWh. To address this energy disparity, Rwanda collaborates with Power Africa to advance rural electrification through solar home systems and mini-grids. Additionally, Rwanda participates in the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP), an initiative striving to harness diverse energy sources and reduce electricity costs. Rwanda is an important country partner of the International Solar Alliance and are working together on a number of initiatives.