At the EDF Pulse Africa 2023 awards ceremony in the French capital, Paris, low-carbon innovation recently won the top prize for Cameroonian start-up Diwa Innovation. Founded by Didier Dinamou, the young company designs self-contained terracotta refrigerators powered by photovoltaic solar energy.
Out of 427 start-ups, the project by Cameroonian start-up Diwa Innovation will ultimately be the one that makes the biggest impression on the minds and the jury of the 5th edition of the prestigious EDF Pulse Africa awards. While first place in the competition was already an exceptional accolade for Didier Dinamou, the energy engineer also received the “Jury’s Favourite” award, which entitles him to personalised support from the Hub of the École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Paris (HEC Paris). This special prize comes on top of a €20,000 grant from the French electricity group Électricité de France (EDF) and full support in developing its project for self-sufficient terracotta refrigerators powered by photovoltaic solar energy.
Inspired by ancestral jars, these fridges are specifically designed to keep water fresh in the Sahel regions, which are particularly affected by drought, and thus improve living conditions for the local population. “Thanks to solar energy, the appliance uses mechanical compression to intensify cold production inside. The clay component, with its exceptional thermal properties, allows water to evaporate efficiently, maintaining an internal temperature well below the ambient temperature”, describes Didier Dinamou, founder of the Diwa Innovation start-up based in the Far North of Cameroon.
The results of the EDF Pulse Africa 2023 awards were unveiled on 7 March 2024 at the awards ceremony in Paris, France. Diwa Innovation, whose main activities are agricultural mechanisation and equipment for preserving heat-sensitive pharmaceutical products and foodstuffs, stood out from the six finalists who qualified at the end of the EDF Pulse Africa Tour pre-selection campaign covering the five sub-regions of the African continent.
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Diwa Innovation was followed by Moroccan start-up Atarec, which produces renewable energy for ports and their surrounding areas at competitive costs using Wave Beat technology patented in 70 countries, and Data 354 from Ivory Coast, which came second ex aequo for its solution for identifying biomass deposits using satellite imagery. And third place went to Kenyan start-up Knights Energy, which won the jury’s “boost prize” for its solar energy equipment.
They won grants of between €10,000 and €20,000, and will receive full support to develop their projects.
Inès Magoum
