NAIROBI, April 17 (Xinhua)-- Several small and medium-sized enterprises that are providing green solutions to Africa's energy, construction, health, transport and finance sectors, have been shortlisted for a major global award, organizers said on Tuesday.
The shortlisted African start-ups will compete with their counterparts from other parts of the globe for the 2018 International Ashden Awards that seek to reward pioneers in green innovations.
Sarah Butler Sloss, the Ashden's Founder and Director, hailed cutting edge innovations that have enabled local communities in the global south to tackle negative impacts of climate change.
"This year's shortlisted organizations are an incredibly exciting group, each helping us in different ways to transition to a low carbon world that brings huge environmental, health and economic benefits," Butler Sloss said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
Among the green startups likely to scoop the prestigious Ashden Award include Nairobi-based Angaza whose expertise in integrating Pay As You Go technology with clean products is enabling manufacturers and distributors to provide durable solutions to off grid populations.
This year's nominees for Ashden Award were selected for their contribution to low carbon growth and transformation of livelihoods in resource constrained settings like the Sub-Saharan African region.
In West Africa, a charity organization that is promoting use of eco-friendly Nubian Vault building materials in place of timber was shortlisted for the green award.
A statement from Ashden Award organizing committee said that East African based Lean Energy Solutions that manufactures briquettes using agricultural waste to power boilers in factories, was also among the twelve nominees.
Other nominees include Mass Design Group that is at the forefront of promoting green architecture in Africa using local materials.
Power for All, a public private sector initiative that is promoting access to renewable energy to the underserved populations in Africa, has also been nominated for the Ashden Award that will be presented to the winner in mid-June at an event in London.
The other African green start ups that could bag the prestigious award include KopaGas which promotes use of cleaner cooking fuels and Lumos Global which is the largest provider of off-grid solar in Nigeria.
Ashden Awards organizing committee said the shortlisted organizations are currently undergoing a rigorous judging process involving a panel of industry experts before the final winner is announced.