Three African Innovations among Earthshot Prize 2024 Finalists
By Gift Briton
At least three groundbreaking innovations from Africa have captured global attention as finalists in Prince William’s Earthshot Prize 2024.
Founded by Prince William in 2020, the Earthshot Prize is a global environmental prize and platform that rewards five winners annually for their exceptional contributions to environmentalism.
There are five categories to be awarded including Fix Our Climate, Build a Waste-Free World, Revive Our Oceans, Clean Our Air, and Protect and Restore Nature.
Each category has three finalists running to receive a £1 million prize which will be awarded at the Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa on Wednesday 6 November.
The 2024 finalists from Africa include Keep It Cool, a Kenyan company that is tackling problems with proper refrigeration and cold-chain logistics across Africa by offering solar-powered refrigeration solutions that cut post-harvest waste by 25% and by connecting smallholder farmers and fishers to a centralized online marketplace.
Gayo from Ghana is the second finalist. The youth-led organization uses its “zero waste model” to drive behavioural change in waste management practices across Africa that cut greenhouse gas emissions and particle pollution while bringing additional income to communities.
d.light, a Pan-African company on track to transform the lives of one billion people by providing affordable and clean solar home systems that provide electricity and replace polluting kerosene lamps and dirty stoves, is the third Earthshot prize 2024 finalist from the continent.
Prince William commended the finalists for their remarkable achievements in tackling pressing environmental issues at the third-annual Earthshot Innovation Summit held in New York.
“The passion of these Finalists is a testament to what can be achieved when we tap into the enormous creativity, ingenuity, and optimism of communities worldwide. Representing every corner of the globe, these Finalists are leading the way in solving some of the most urgent environmental challenges. Their groundbreaking work is inspiring hope and action as we work to create a sustainable future for generations to come,” he added.
Selected from a pool of nearly 2,500 nominees spanning 139 countries, the 15 finalists represent a diverse global cohort that includes innovative solutions from six continents.
The selection process, conducted by the Earthshot Prize in collaboration with subject-matter experts, assessed each finalist’s solution for its potential to disrupt environmental challenges and positively impact communities worldwide.
The announcement of 2024 finalists brings the number of global solutions honoured as Prize Finalists to 60, a major milestone in The Prize’s efforts to uncover and elevate the most promising climate solutions worldwide. The Prize has also helped unlock more than £75 million in direct and in-kind support for Finalists since its founding in 2020.
The five Winners of this year’s Prize will be selected by Prince William and his fellow members of the prestigious Earthshot Prize Council. The Earthshot Prize Council is chaired by the Earthshot Prize Board of Trustees Chair, Dame Christiana Figueres, architect of the Paris Agreement.
Members of the Earthshot Prize Council are HRH Prince William, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Cate Blanchett, Sir David Attenborough, Indra Nooyi, Stella McCartney, José Andrés, Wanjira Mathai, Nemonte Nenquimo, Luisa Neubauer, Naoko Yamazaki, Ernest Gibson, and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The Finalists’ eligibility for the £1 million prize is only the beginning of their Earthshot journey. Each finalist will receive dedicated mentorship, resources and technical support to help accelerate the growth of their solution during the Earthshot Prize Fellowship Programme. The support includes access to the Prize’s robust network of influential businesses, investors and climate experts, including the Earthshot Prize’s Global Alliance of Partners, comprised of some of the world’s largest businesses, donors, investors and environmental organizations committed to climate action.
Finalists will also have access to Launchpad, Earthshot’s bespoke online innovative finance platform to match-make Earthshot solutions to a growing community of members made up of mission-aligned donors and investors seeking to speed proven environmental solutions to scale.