ecoligo wins the German Entrepreneurship for Development Prize

German solar company ecoligo has been awarded the German Entrepreneurship for Development Prize for 2019 in the category of “Innovation for Development” for its commitment to promoting sustainable growth in emerging markets. The prize was awarded on Tuesday at the German-African Business Summit held in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, where ecoligo’s West Africa office is based. The Berliner start-up was awarded 25,000 EUR to support its business activities in emerging markets.

ecoligo provides a fully financed solar-as-a-service solution for businesses in emerging markets, removing the technical and financial barriers that prevent them from accessing affordable solar energy. The resulting energy cost-savings enables these businesses to grow and boost the local economy. 

The projects are financed through the crowdinvesting platform ecoligo, where private investors can invest from 100 EUR and receive fixed, attractive returns. So far 16 projects in Ghana, Kenya, Chile and the Philippines have been funded on the platform, with a total financing volume of 1.5 million EUR. Over the lifetime of the projects, up to 25k tonnes of CO₂ emissions will be saved. 

A key factor in receiving the recognition was ecoligo’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Every solar project supports goal No. 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, No. 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth and No. 13: Climate Action. Depending on the type of end-client, individual projects also support further SDGs. 

The German Entrepreneurship for Development Prize is awarded in recognition of commitment by companies that benefits the local population in developing countries and emerging economies. The German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft e.V. award the prize together in two categories. Previous winners of the prize category “Innovation for Development” include GreenTec Capital and SOLARKIOSK. Hydraulics firm HAWE won the other category of the prize, “Economy for Development”, for its hydraulics training programmes in Botswana. 

“Our market proven business innovation of providing solar-as-a-service to commercial and industrial clients is addressing one of the key issues businesses are facing in emerging markets: high cost of power. We offer a sustainable alternative, that attracts foreign direct investments into these markets, while employing local firms to build the solar projects that save our clients energy cost. We are certain that this innovation will make a significant positive impact to emerging markets. Winning this prestigious award is a confirmation of this impact.”

Martin Baart, CEO at ecoligo