A report published earlier this year by the Africa Renewable Energy Manufacturing Initiative identified opportunities for solar photovoltaics (PV) and battery materials refining and assembly across a series of African countries. The report found that South-South collaboration, such as strategic partnerships with China, India and ASEAN countries, will be key to realizing this potential.  

These international partners require a range of pull factors, such as local market potential, availability of necessary infrastructure, favourable enabling environment, and a strong local supply chain to be in place before they will consider investment opportunities in Africa. The roundtable today sought to address some of these key barriers.  

Xiaohua Zhang, China Country Director of ClimateWorks Foundation, said: “Strengthening international cooperation on renewable power is key to advancing the global clean energy transition, addressing the climate crisis, supporting economic development, and benefiting people in their daily lives. As a global leader in renewables, China can play a pivotal role in promoting clean power worldwide. ClimateWorks Foundation is proud to support this South-South cooperation, and we hope to foster greater dialogue and partnerships among institutions and experts to help scale global green recovery and sustainable development.”   

Okenwa Anayo, CEO and Technical Director of Nayo Tropical Technology Limited, was one of the African representatives who attended the session in Shanghai. “We at Nayo Tropical Technology see the Africa Renewable Energy Manufacturing Initiative partnership as a great platform to leverage in our new drive for growth, particularly through integration and scaled-up production in partnership with more advanced manufacturers from Asia and other parts of the world,” he said.  

With a sharp focus on facilitating South-South cooperation, the Africa Renewable Energy Manufacturing Initiative is planning additional roundtables to be held throughout the coming year as it continues to drive investment and mobilize action for Africa’s green industrial development. 

Find out more about the three winners and their innovations:

Solar Freeze offers post-harvest solutions for small-scale farmers. The affordable solar cold storage rooms and IT solutions help prevent food waste and increase the farmers' income. These cold rooms are made of used shipping containers and use an innovative and efficient forced-air evaporative cooling system. They can be either fully owned and operated by the local communities through micro-franchising or used based on an affordable pay-as-you-store model.

Solar Freeze has participated in mentoring and training 100 young women aged 18-29 years through a program called "Each One, Teach One - Train to Earn", where rural youth learn how to operate and repair the Solar Freeze units.

Miti Mitaani ("Trees in our Neighbourhood") is a social enterprise at the forefront of mitigating climate change and fighting excess heat in cities with urban trees. Trees are an affordable, accessible cooling solution that reduces the ambient temperature up to 8 degrees and helps fight climate change.

Miti Mitaani combines climate intervention with livelihood creation. It provides viable work for low-income youth in urban centres and training on ecological best practices. In a pilot launched in August 2022, youth groups earn a monthly income based on the number of trees planted and the survival of those trees. The pilot's goal is to refine the program design to scale this intervention to more groups and other cities.

The Smart Cold Chain Monitoring System uses innovative tracking technology to prevent post-harvest food and pharmaceutical waste. It consists of a smart sensor device that records temperature, humidity, particulate matter, and location during cold chain transit and communicates the data in real-time. Users can place the device in vehicles, shipping containers and cold storage rooms. 

The company currently operates in Nigeria and plans to expand throughout Africa.

Watch the video of the presentations on the SEforALL COP27 platform (10 November).

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