In partnership with Energy Generation, Schneider Electric has dedicated its expertise and network of volunteers to initiatives from its Access to Energy scheme, which aims to help young African entrepreneurs with energy access projects.
Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, and its Foundation, have set up a partnership with Energy Generation, a non-profit organisation, to help young African entrepreneurs with energy access projects.
Energy Generation aims to identify, develop and widely distribute African electrification solutions, while supporting promising new African entrepreneurs. Based in Lomé, Togo, its actions are two-fold:
- First, it has set up the Africa Energy Generation Prize, a pan-African competition for inventors of unconventional energy generating solutions. For the first award in 2016, 40 “ambassadors” traveled through Africa to find innovative projects, resulting in the submission of 40 projects from 16 countries and the selection of 10 entrepreneurs.
- At the same time, the association has created Energy Generation Academy, a Lomé-based incubator aimed at providing the 10 selected entrepreneurs with one year’s support to develop their projects, technical know-how and managerial skills.
As part of its Access to Energy Training and Entrepreneurship program, Schneider Electric supports the organisation of the Africa Energy Prize through its Foundation and commits to contributing to the development of the incubator in Lomé. The Group will equip the technical laboratories and offer training content. It will also provide mentoring to help the selected entrepreneurs develop their solutions and business models, through Schneider Electric Teachers, a non-profit association founded by Schneider Electric and its Foundation to promote volunteer work and knowledge sharing by the Group’s employees and retirees. Participating volunteers will train the entrepreneurs in electricity and management skills, while helping to develop their prototypes.
François Milioni, director of Schneider Electric’s Access to Energy training and entrepreneurship programme, explained: “Energy entrepreneurship is essential to boost local economic development, promote innovate solutions and create jobs. Schneider Electric is proud to be joining forces with Energy Generation in this innovative project, which will promote African entrepreneurship and enable young people to develop their potential. These entrepreneurs are agents of change who will help provide universal access to reliable energy.”
Energy Generation aims to select 10 entrepreneurs for its programme in 2016, 20 in 2017 and 30 in 2018.