The 2nd edition of the AFSIA Solar Awards 2021, organized once again in partnership with the Africa Energy Forum have culminated in a grand show live and online on November 16th. During this ceremony, the winners of the 15 categories were unveiled and celebrated.
More than 190 entries were submitted across the different categories from all over the continent over the past few months. The Jury, composed of some of the leading experts in solar energy in Africa, have carefully reviewed and evaluated each entry to identify the most deserving companies and individuals to be awarded the grand prize during the awards ceremony.
Among the 15 categories in competition this year, the most disputed titles included “C&I Project of the year”, “Solar innovation/technology of the year”, and “DFI & Alternative Financing” which is reflective of the increased activity of those segments of the African solar industry. This highlights the very positive trend of the growth of the industry across the continent.
Winners
| Category | Winner | Achievement |
| Utility Scale Project of the year | InfraCo Africa | For the 60MWac Salima Solar project in Malawi |
| Commercial & Industrial Solar Project of the year | EM-ONE Energy Solutions | for its 1.52MWp / 2.28MWh system at the Federal ministry Mabushi office complex in Abuja, Nigeria
|
| Mini Grid Project of the year | ENGIE Equatorial | for the 600kWp Lolwe Island mini-grid project in Uganda |
| Solar Home System Company of the year | Ignite Power | for connecting households in Rwanda for under $1 a month |
| Residential Project of the year | Jubaili Bros | for the 20kW/60kWh solar PV plus storage facility installation in Accra, Ghana |
| African Solar company of the year | SolarAfrica
|
for being the first to successfully market solar PPAs to residential and commercial power users in South Africa back in 2011 and having financed 55MW of projects to date |
| African Solar SME/Entrepreneur of the year | Kudirat Saliu | from the Solar Sister Entrepreneurs Program in Nigeria focusing on distributing solar home systems solutions in off-grid areas |
| Financial Advisor of the year | Synergy Consulting Infrastructure and Financial Advisory Services | for several projects including the Dondo Solar PV project, the 1st competitively tendered solar IPP in Mozambique and the 100MW solar IPP in Botswana |
| Legal Advisor of the year | Wairimu & Co. | for advisory on the $4M investment to a Kenyan mini-grid development |
| DFI/Alternative Financing of the year | SunFunder | for the $70M Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund |
| Woman in Solar of the year | Jenny Fletcher | CEO and Co-Founder of Ariya Finergy leading an exciting period of growth and having secured $1M of assets under management and a further $3M identified in 2022 |
| Solar Innovation for the year | Genius Watter | for the Genius RO – solar-powered reverse osmosis desalination technology |
| Solar Picture of the year | ARESS | for a beautiful picture highlighting solar EPC work taken by the installation team |
| Solar video of the year | Enara | for a film shot in the New Valley governorate to showcase the potential and benefits of solar energy in reclaiming desert land in Egypt. |
| Life-time achievement award | Franco Traverso from Genius Watter | Co-founder and Chairman of Genius Watter and a pioneer of the photovoltaic sector since 1981. |
An exceptional and global platform
The awards ceremony was organized in collaboration with the AEF (Africa Energy Forum) and was conducted online and live in London.
AEF is the marquis event of the African energy industry and has been uniting top public and private sector decision-makers in 1 location for more than 20 years. This year, AEF took place in London from November 15th until 17th.
AFSIA is thrilled to be part of this prestigious event and to reveal the laureates during the hybrid live and online ceremony on the 16th of November with the support global industry leaders such as LONGi, Trina Solar, Jinko Solar and Huawei.
Meet the jury
Applications to the AFSIA Solar Awards were assessed by some of the best experts of the African solar industry. They reviewed every application independently and nominated the outstanding ones in each category.
This year the jury was composed of Demi Edosomwan from TotalEnergies Ventures, Catherine Mukobo from ACERD, Tony Tiyou from Renewables in Africa, Wale Shonibare from AfDB, Ujunwa Ojemeni from the Ministry of Energy & Natural Resources – Lagos State Government, Salma Okonkwo from UBI Group, Wikus Kruger from the Power Futures Lab at the University of Cape Town and Dr. Harald Schützeichel from the Solar Energy Foundation.
Contact the winners:
| Category | Winner | Contribution |
| Utility Scale Project of the year | InfraCo Africa
|
James Ng'ang'a – jnganga@infracoafrica.com |
| Commercial & Industrial Solar Project of the year | EM-ONE Energy Solutionss | Karine Makhijani Malagon – karine@emone.com |
| Mini Grid Project of the year | ENGIE Equatorial
|
Katja Damman – katja.damman@engie.com |
| Solar Home System Company of the year | Ignite Power | Gal Cohen – gal.cohen@ignite.solar |
| Residential Project of the year | Jubaili Bros
|
Sampson Amanyo-Zickson – sampson.zickson@jubailibros.com |
| African Solar company of the year | SolarAfrica
|
Samantha Robinson – sam@sjcommunications.co.za |
| African Solar SME/Entrepreneur of the year | Kudirat Saliu
|
Oisereime Lloyd-Dietake – oisereime@solarsister.org |
| Financial Advisor of the year | Synergy Consulting Infrastructure and Financial Advisory Services | Praveen Umredkar – Praveen.Umredkar@SynergyConsultingIFA.com |
| Legal Advisor of the year | Wairimu & Co. | Wairimu Karanja – wairimu@envantagelaw.com |
| DFI/Alternative financing of the year | SunFunder | Nico Tyabji – nico@sunfunder.com |
| Woman in Solar of the year | Jenny Fletcher
|
Jenny Fletcher – jenny@ariyafinergy.com |
| Solar Innovation of the year | Genius Watter
|
Angelica Bonora – a.bonora@geniuswatter.com |
| Solar Picture of the year | ARESS | William MONTCHO – rzone2.aress@gmail.com |
| Solar video of the year | Enara | Yasmine Abd El Aziz -y.abdelaziz@enaragroup.com |
| Life-time achievement award | Franco Traverso | Angelica Bonora – a.bonora@geniuswatter.com |
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