General Electric has announced a three-year partnership with the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) to launch and co-fund the Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge.
Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Liberia are to benefit from the initiative.
The Power Africa Challenge funded by the two organisations will boost activities in both rural and urban populations as well as promoting innovative solutions that further develop, scale up or extend the use of proven technologies.
Organisations in Africa with their own developing technologies or acquiring and installing technology developed elsewhere and businesses operating in Africa are entitled to participate in the challenge.
The US$2 million challenge will award 20 or more grants of up to US$100,000 each to indigenous African organisations providing off-grid solutions to power economic activities.
According to Jay Ireland, president and chief executive officer (CEO) for GE Africa, the company is committed to supporting Africa’s efforts to solve the challenge of insufficient and inconsistent power supply, noting the Power Africa Challenge will tap into expertise on how Africa’s challenges on power could best be solved from an African perspective.
“We bring in the technology, but the indigenous people on the ground also have valuable insights on what works best for Africa and innovative solutions to meet the power needs of the continent,” he said.
United States government agencies together with private sectors are working very closely to enhance access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power and to improve management of energy resources.
“USADF has been catalyzing people out of poverty for 30 plus years. This initiative will help leverage more marginalized and underserved communities into positions to engage in and benefit from inclusive economic growth,” said Shari Berencbach, president and CEO for USADF.
