The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation have announced Aftrak and Omnivat as winners of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy – a $2-million innovation competition to reward entrepreneurs working to expand access to reliable, affordable and sustainable offgrid electricity in Africa. Aftrak, an initiative based out of the UK and Malawi, was awarded the $1-million grand prize for its easily assembled solar microgrid and custom-designed tractors, which have tripled agricultural yield, increased farmer incomes and provided electricity to remote communities.
The World Bank has approved a $138.5-million finance package to support the integration of renewable energy into Namibia’s electricity system by strengthening its transmission grid and integrating a second utility scale battery storage system into the country’s network. The initiative, which is Namibia’s first-ever World Bank financed energy project, will be implemented by NamPower, with the aim of minimising outage risks, supporting load growth, and unlocking future opportunities for power trade in the Southern African Power Pool.