No less than 130 suppliers of solar electrification solutions have applied for the first AFSIA Solar Awards, organised by the African Solar Industry Association (Afsia). The awards in 15 categories will be presented at the Africa Energy Forum (AEF), which is taking place online on October 29th, 2020.
For its first edition, the AFSIA Solar Awards saw a significant participation of suppliers of solar electrification solutions. The competition for innovation in the highly dynamic solar energy sector attracted 130 entries from companies active across the African continent. This enthusiasm is sufficient proof of the importance of the sector in the electrification process in Africa.
“Fifteen categories are in competition this year, some of them arousing a very strong interest. Unsurprisingly, the most competitive categories include the “Self Consumption Project of the Year” and the “Mini Grid Project of the Year”, reflecting the increased activity of these two segments of the African solar industry. The category of “Solar Woman of the Year” was also particularly popular among the participants. This highlights the very positive trend of increasing involvement of women in the solar industry across the continent,” says the African Solar Industry Association (Afsia), which is organising the innovation competition.
The jury for this first edition of the AFSIA Solar Awards is composed of Lamya Abdel Hady, the private sector project manager of the state-owned Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), Mr Lamya Abdel Hady, Mr Saho, Acting Executive Director of the Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency of Ecowas (ECREEE) in Cape Verde, Jasandra Nyker, Managing Director of Denham Capital in South Africa, and Linda Munyengeterwa, Regional Director (Africa and Middle East) for Infrastructure Industry of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector financing arm.
The full AFSIA Solar Awards will be presented on October 29th, 2020, during the Africa Energy Forum (AEF), which is going online this year due to the coronavirus health crisis.
Jean Marie Takouleu
