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Africa long a centre of innovation and creativity is fast becoming a hotbed of climate innovation, finding dynamic new ways of addressing the effects of climate change and pollution.
Acknowledging Africa’s role at the frontline of the climate battle, The Earthshot Prize – one of the world’s foremost environmental awards initiatives is holding its finals event in South Africa this year. This year’s cohort of 15 finalists also includes three from Africa chosen from a competitive field of nearly 2 500 solutions from 139 countries.
The Earthshot Awards will see five finalists win a catalytic £1 million prize, and will be the culmination of Earthshot Week, to be held in Cape Town, South Africa in November. Earthshot Week is a series of events across Cape Town to celebrate grassroots climate champions from across the globe.
This is the first time the Earthshot Awards will be hosted on African soil, proof of the continent’s growing contribution to global environmental innovation.
As part of the Earthshot campaign, MultiChoice Africa has partnered to highlight innovative African environmental solutions and inspire more communities to address sustainability challenges. The MultiChoice Earthshot partnership profiles Africa’s finalists through MultiChoice Africa’s continental media reach, while raising awareness and understanding of the Earthshot Prize across Africa.
Africa’s finalists
Among Africa’s three finalists in this year’s awards is GAYO Ghana, a youth-led organisation using a zero-waste model to drive behavioural change in waste-management practices across Africa. The goal of GAYO (Green Africa Youth Organisation) is to cut greenhouse gas emissions and particle pollution while bringing additional income to communities.
“GAYO employs and trains community members in waste management best practice and other commercial skills, and then creates opportunities for them to earn money selling compost and charcoal briquettes made from waste,” explains GAYO co-founder Desmond Alugnoa. “Since 2019, we have created 70 green jobs, impacted 5 000 lives, and kept 170 tonnes of waste out of landfills.”
To date, GAYO has saved an estimated 3.6 tonnes of CO2. At scale, the model could reduce air pollution on the continent by 70%.
Fellow African finalist d.light is a successful company transforming lives by providing affordable, clean solar home energy systems, replacing dirty stoves and kerosene lamps. Operating across Sub-Saharan Africa, India and 60+ countries, d.light is already one of the world’s largest solar home system providers.
Co-founders Sam Goldman and Nedjip Tozun were inspired to prevent the painful burn injuries that can result from overturned kerosene lamps. Now, their solar lantern design brings safe, renewable energy and light to people across the developing world.
“Since 2007, we have avoided 38 million tonnes of CO2e and an estimated two million tonnes of black carbon particulate matter,” says Goldman. “Our goal is to supply one billion people with clean power, mitigating a total of 250 million tonnes of CO2e.”
Africa’s third Earthshot Prize finalist is Keep It Cool, from Kenya. The company is tackling problems with refrigeration and cold-chain challenges across Africa by offering solar-powered refrigeration solutions that cut post-harvest waste by 25%, then connecting smallholder farmers and fishers to a centralised online marketplace.
“Fisherfolk on the Kenyan side of Lake Victoria were losing up to half of their catch every day,” says Keep It Cool founder and MD Francis Nderitu. “By installing solar-powered cold storage units, we ensure that catches stay fresh. Then, KIC connects farmers and fishers directly to retail markets through agreements with 1 600 retailers, to ensure timely purchase of their produce.”
KIC is working to expand into poultry, fruit and vegetables, and has a vision to improve the livelihoods of 1.6 million people by 2030.
Earthshot impact
This year’s Earthshot Prize emphasises how innovative solutions can be developed locally, then scaled up, to solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. This year’s African finalists follow in the footsteps of past African finalists such as fishing tech company ABALOBI, tree-planting initiative Freetown The Treetown, and 2022 winner Mukuru Clean Stoves from Kenya.
The Earthshot Prize was launched by England’s Prince William and is designed to find and develop solutions to repair our planet in the course of this decade. Since 2021, Earthshot Prize finalists and have:
• Protected and restored 170 000km2 of land and ocean – the size of Ireland and Iceland combined.
• Reduced, avoided, or captured 420 000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, roughly the equivalent of 100 000 cars over a year.
• Removed, upcycled, or avoided 100 000 tonnes of waste, equivalent to 570 Boeing 747 planes.
• Created 500 green jobs.
• Saved, reused, or recycled 2.5 million tonnes of water, enough to fill 1 000 Olympic swimming pools.
The 2024 Earthshot Prize awards ceremony will be broadcasted on 06 November, at a prestigious ceremony in Cape Town. Viewers can watch the ceremony from the below channels:
5:30 – 7:00 GMT (LIVE)
4:30 – 6:00 Local Time - GMT (LIVE)
Viewers can also watch the recorded event on Showmax and DStv Catchup on 07 November from 8:30 (GMT).
