Nigerian firm wins African Energy Start-up of Year

Peachwater Consulting Nigeria has won Startup.Info’s Energy Start-up of the Year award.

Peachwater was given the Engie Start-Up of the Year award after impressing judges at an awards ceremony that took place in Casablanca recently.

Peachwater was founded by Okey Ibekwe Esse, and the firm manufactures and markets Powerstove clean cookstove, which is smokeless and generates electricity with 70 percent less biomass fuel than competitors.

Start-up of the Year Africa 2018 award was won by HydroIQ of Kenya, which was founded by Brian Bosire & Victor Shikoli. The firm is a virtual water network operator, according to the organisers, which brings intelligence in water distribution by preventing leakages on the network.

The OCP – Agritech Special Prize- was won by Grace Agricole de Cote d Ivoire, founded by Brou Kouame Yves Laurent. The firm is a start-up aiming at the development of rice production in Ivory Coast, proposing a programme of production, certification and distribution of Improved Certified Seeds of rice.

Next was the Qwant Public Choice Award, which was won by Ecodome Maroc, founded by Youness Ouazri. Ecodome Maroc produces ecotouristic housing made of natural soil in the form of domes.

The PwC – Jury Choice Award was won by Priyo of South Africa, which was founded by Palesa Mahlatji.

Priyo has developed a portable solar digital smart computer lab to train youth from underprivileged, under-resourced schools and communities in rural and peri-urban areas on how to use the computer. Priyo trains them in IT, specifically in areas of end user computing, ICT, digital marketing and e-learning and links job seekers to online employment opportunities.

The Community Manager of the Year was won by Project Alpha, a Madagascan event agency founded by Muriel Randriamasimanana. The firm focuses on video games and e-sport phenomena.

More than 600 start-ups from 52 different countries took part in the process this year. There were over 12, 000 online votes gathered, and 41 million people reached on social media.

“After the success of the first edition of Startup of the year Africa, the collaborative startup magazine Startup.Info continues its engagement in the support of African innovation,” the organiser said.

“With the support of major international groups such as OCP, Engie, Qwant, Finance Innovation, PwC, Labs-NS-Avocats, Holmarcom Group, Royal Air Maroc, Growth Experts, as well as 70 media and ecosystem partners, Startup.Info launched the 2nd edition of the contest ‘Startup of the year Africa’,” it added.

Startup.Info started in 2011 by Kossi Adzo, a software engineer.

ODINAKA ANUDU