10 energy startups from 5 African countries (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda) have gone through Startup|Energy’s Energy Camps in the last 12 months. They were selected from a total of 156 applications received. Its business areas are: Energy storage, battery recycling, refrigeration, health, agriculture, e-mobility.
All early-stage startups received several weeks of intensive one-on-one coaching from experienced entrepreneurs as part of the Startup|Energy Accelerator program. In addition, their business model was discussed and further developed in joint workshops.
Eight of these Startup|Energy Fellow startups presented their business concept to nearly 60 investors, manufacturers and foundations in Kigali on October 19, 2022.
These are the eight startups:
- The innovations of Drop Access (Kenya) are the products “Koyo” and the “VacciBox”: portable, solar-powered refrigerators that enable cool storage and safe transport of vaccines and medicines on the one hand and agricultural products on the other.
Represented by Norah Magero, CEO - Inno-Neat (Kenya) manufactures reused lithium-ion batteries from recycled cells for use in solar and e-mobility applications. The startup thus offers a practical solution for the old batteries of Africa’s millions of solar home systems.
Represented by Godfrey Simiyu Katiambo, CEO - SLS Energy (Rwanda) builds energy storage systems from batteries obtained from e-waste or discarded electric vehicles. The company currently offers energy storage as a service for cellular towers.
Represented by Leandre Berwa, CEO - Solakilimo (Kenya) provides solar-powered cold rooms for fish, fruit and vegetable farmers on a “pay-as-you-preserve” model.
Represented by Raphael Asiba, CEO - Thinkbikes (Nigeria) produces electric road bikes and cargo bikes locally and makes them available for rent to individuals and businesses in urban and rural communities to provide affordable, clean mobility.
Represented by Tolulope Olukokun, CEO - TryKe (Kenya) combines the introduction of electric mobility in rural Kenya (boda-boda, tricycles) with a unique logistics offering for smallholder farmers.
Represented by Alex Makalliwa, CEO - Worldtech Consult (Ghana) designs, manufactures and markets turnkey, modular, off-grid and hybrid cold chain solutions and rural electrification solutions.
Represented by Julius M. Dzah, CEO - Zuhura Solutions (Kenya): Their product, the Halisi Trolley, is a fully solar-powered street food trolley that allows vendors to avoid the time and expense of purchasing and maintaining charcoal to heat their food.
Represented by Lloyd Gitau, CEO
A special element of Startup|Energy’s accelerator program is the permanent support over a longer period of time. This also includes the peer-to-peer exchange between the startups, which is unique in this form and has already led to the first economic cooperations between the startups. As a Fellow of Startup|Energy, startups will continue to receive our support in building their business and finding partners and investors.
Additional startups will be added to the Startup|Energy accelerator program starting in spring 2023.
Startup|Energy is an initiative of the Stiftung Solarenergie and the University of Freiburg to promote startups in the field of decentralized energy technologies in sub-Saharan Africa and Germany.
