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Solar firm Angaza wins Sh125m innovation award

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Pupils use solar lighting to do their homework. A Kenyan social enterprise, Angaza, has been feted for efforts to supply clean energy products to homes. FILE PHOTO | NMG

A Kenyan social enterprise that enables manufacturers and distributors to make energy products affordable to off-grid consumers has won an international acclaim for innovation.

The Angaza platform, with presence in San Francisco, California, will receive Sh125 million ($1.25 million) from the Skoll Foundation to support its investments, scaling up its work and impact.

Angaza is among six social enterprises feted. They have drawn upon an array of technologies to design innovative solutions.

Angaza was cited for creating an accessible, affordable, Pay-As-You-Go financing mechanism to supply solar and clean energy products to households.

The platform has helped digital finance service providers fill the market gaps that traditional brick-and-mortar financial institutions avoid in impoverished urban centres and rural communities.

READ: Solar firm raises Sh1bn to finance expansion

It has helped 500,000 households across more than 30 countries afford solar energy products, saving consumers Sh5 billion ($50 million).

Skoll, is a private foundation based in Palo Alto, California, with a mission to spur large-scale change by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs and other innovators.

“In tackling issues ranging from financial inclusion, clean energy to poverty alleviation, these pioneering leaders, together with their teams and partners demonstrate the potential for lasting equilibrium change,” said Skoll Foundation president and chief executive Sally Osberg in a statement.

The Skoll Awards distinguish transformative leaders whose organisations disrupt the status quo and drive sustainable large-scale change.