African solutions among 15 organisations in five £1 Million Prizes race

 Ochieng’ Ogodo – Science Journalist

 

[NAIROBI] Three exceptional African solutions are among 15 organizations in the Prince William’s Earthshot Prize race, competing for one of the five Catalytic £1 million prizes to scale up their solutions for climate change, it was announced at the third-annual Earthshot Innovation Summit yesterday in New York.

Founded by William and incubated in the Royal Foundation in 2020, the Earthshot Prize is a global environmental prize and platform designed to discover, accelerate and scale ground-breaking solutions to repair and regenerate the planet.

Among the 15 finalists is Gayo, a Ghanaian youth-led organization that promotes behavioural change in waste management techniques throughout Africa by using its "zero waste model," which lowers greenhouse gas emissions and particle pollution while generating extra revenue for local communities. Their plan would cut air pollution by 70 per cent and establish them as the continent's preeminent waste management model.

Also shortlisted is a Kenyan company known as Keep It Cool that is addressing issues with efficient refrigeration and cold-chain logistics in Africa by providing solar-powered refrigeration options that reduce post-harvest waste by 25 per cent and linking small-scale farmers and fishermen to an online marketplace.

The other finalist from Africa is d.light, a Pan-African company that is seeking to transform the lives of one billion people by providing affordable and clean solar home systems that provide electricity and replace polluting kerosene lamps and dirty stoves.

“Today, we celebrate the incredible achievement, unwavering dedication and urgent optimism that drives our fourth class of Earthshot innovators,” said Prince William, the President of The Earthshot Prize, in a press release.

The Ghanaian, Kenyan, and multinational initiatives' solutions offer a different take on the problem of air pollution and the creation of a waste-free planet. See the news release attached for more information.

The winners of this fourth cohort of prize finalists will be announced in Cape Town in November after having been selected by The Earthshot Prize Council.

“The passion of these Finalists is a testament to what can be achieved when we tap into the enormous creativity, ingenuity, and optimism of communities around the world,” Prince William said.

This year’s Finalists were selected from nearly 2,500 nominees submitted by the Prize’s network of more than 430 nominators from 75 countries.

The Earthshot Prize selected the 15 Finalists based on evaluations completed by its selection partners and the Expert Advisory Panel, an international consortium of over 100 subject-matter experts with extensive backgrounds in science, technology, business, finance, academia, and policy.

Over the year-long search process, the Earthshot Prize, its selection partners, and members of the Expert Advisory Panel assessed each finalist's proposal for its ability to address environmental issues and have a beneficial effect on people, communities, and the environment. selection process.