The Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is one of the world's largest competitions in the field of sustainable entrepreneurship. Green start-ups from all over the world can submit their promising sustainable business plans. The winner will receive €500,000 to further develop the product or service, and to bring it to market. The runner-up will receive €200,000  and the three other finalists receive €100,000 each. An international jury selects the winner and runner-up.

The Dutch Postcode Lottery started the competition in 2007, after being inspired by president Clinton to look for those dedicated entrepreneurs with brilliant green business plans. Plans that are ready to speed up the transition towards a low carbon economy. The answers to the issues of our time are already in front of us. But it takes entrepreneurs like the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge finalists to present us with sustainable solutions and get them out into the world.

How does the competition work?

Green entrepreneurs can submit (free of charge) their sustainable business plans at www.greenchallenge.info. After the entry period the organization will announce the 25 nominees who have a chance of becoming a finalist. Five finalists will then be selected for the final round of the competition, where they will present their business plan in front of a selected audience and an international panel of experts during the grand final in Amsterdam in 2019. After the decision round the judges will announce the winner of the €500,000 as well as the runner‐up who will win €200,000 and the three other finalists who will receive €100,000 each.

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Got a brilliant innovation idea in the electrical storage area, and want to take it to market or scale-up? You could win €100,000 as well as investment and business support to grow your business from the world’s biggest sustainable player backed by a trusted ecosystem.

What we’re looking for

We want to see start-ups based on innovative technology or business models in the electrical storage area, including electric batteries and/or supercapacitors, and their ancillary devices, whether based on hardware or software.

Your idea should offer competitive advantages in, for example: power density, weight, form factor, environmental impact, production cost, charging, supply, operation and maintenance, health and safety, or recycling.

Our Evaluation Criteria

Anyone with a great idea can enter: established start-ups or those ready to get going. We will use the following criteria:

• Idea – Have you developed a technological solution that meets a critical need in the market?
• Impact –  Is your technology a game changer? Tell us about it and let us know how it will change the rules of the market.
• Team –  Do you have that winning team that is able to step up the plate on the road to success? Together with our coaches we can help you grow!
• Business –  Are you able to translate your technology into a sustainable and profitable business?

Timeline

• STEP 1 – 23rd November 2018 - End of the first assessment round: Applications evaluated, 50 highest scoring start-ups will be invited to the second stage.
• STEP 2 – 30th November 2018 - Pitches uploaded: Those top 50 will upload a five-minute pitch and be assessed further by InnoEnergy experts. The 30 highest scoring ventures will then go forward to the third stage.
• STEP 3 – Early March 2019 - Pitching event: Top 30 will be invited to attend the pitching event in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in person or via the web. 15 winners will be selected.
• STEP 4 – Early March 2019 - Celebration event: 15 winners invited to the Celebration Event including final pitching event, where €100,000 will be given to the best start-up. All 15 winners offered participation in the InnoEnergy Highway or Boostway programme.

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EDP is committed in contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals undertaken by the United Nations, namely by helping to transform the way energy is produced, distributed and consumed.

Access to energy (A2E) is a necessary condition to break the poverty cycle, allowing the social and economic development of remote rural areas. Electrical energy is crucial for health, education, water and agriculture, income generation and community projects.

The A2E CSR FUND Program is aimed to alleviate energy poverty by supporting sustainable and clean energy projects in developing countries.

1st edition (2018-2019)

The 1st edition of this program has an endowment of 450.000€. Projects may apply for values between € 25,000 and € 100,000. The Fund will cover:

• up to 75% of the total project costs, for non-profit entities;
• up to 50% of the total project costs, for for-profit entities.

A2E CSR Fund will support energy access projects in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Applications are open until 25th November 2018.

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The African Power Platform (APP) is supporting the Innovate UK to deploy the £10 million Energy Catalyst Round 6, a grant programme designed to address the need for clean, affordable and secure energy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Key Dates:

 - Competition opens: Monday 20 August 2018

 - Registration closes: Wednesday 14 November 2018 12:00 pm

Proposals must address all 3 elements of the energy ‘trilemma’:

 - Affordable

 - Clean

 - Security of supply and energy access

There are 3 options to apply into this competition. These are referred to as strands and will be run in parallel. The strands are dependent on the stage your project is at:

 - early stage for feasibility studies (£50,000 to £300,000 and last 6 to 12 months)

 - mid-stage for industrial research (£50,000 to £1.5 million, 12 to 24 months)

 - late stage for experimental development (£50,000 to £3 million, 12 to 30 months)

Eligibility criteria:

 - be a business, academic organisation, charity, public sector organisation or research and technology organisation (RTO)

 - apply as part of a collaboration with a UK organisation if you are based in Sub-Saharan Africa

 - intend to exploit the results to help deliver clean energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa

 - involve at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)

A special package has been set aside for bioenergy in the amount of £3 million for transformative bioenergy technology in electricity and/or heat applications between 10kW and 5MW. This package is applicable for projects covering East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda), West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria) and Southern Africa (Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia).

If you have an eligible project and think you can do it on your own, you can apply to the grant directly at the Innovate UK website.

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EDP Open Innovation is an acceleration program for development of new business projects focused on technological innovation or business model innovation in the area of clean technologies in the energy sector.

What We Are Looking For

• Clean Energy: Centralized and decentralized energy generation, distributed energy
• Smart Grids: Grid operations, load management solutions, energy management
• Energy Storage: Energy storage technologies and solutions, storage management and control
• Digital Innovation: Data analytics, AI, automation, IoT, Industry 4.0, cybersecurity
• Client-focused Solutions: Smart pricing and bundling, energy efficiency, increase electrification and energy access, new business models, e-mobility

Applications deadline: 10th September 2018

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Publication date: 25th February 2016

Submission date: 3rd April 2016

Region: Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania

Entity: USADF

Description: The U.S. African Development Foundation partnered with USAID and GE Africa to promote innovative solutions that develop, scale-up or extend the use of proven technologies for off-grid energy – reaching communities not served by existing power grids.  In January 2016 we will announce the finalists that helped us to reach our goal of 50 African Energy Entrepreneurs for Off-Grid Energy!

This $5.0 million challenge will award 50 grants of up $100,000 each to African companies and organizations providing off-grid solutions that deploy renewable resources and power local economic activities.  Challenge winners will have near-term solutions to power the needs of productive and commercial activities, including agriculture production and processing, off-farm businesses, and commercial enterprises.

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A Facility to Develop Innovative Projects in Renewable Energy and Boost Electrification on the African Continent 

To support renewable energy projects in Africa, the AFD Group, with the support of the European Union, has set-up the Africa Renewable Energy Scale-Up Facility   aimed at sustaining the growth of the off-grid private sector in Africa. The facility has been designed to rally  both public and private stakeholders, as it is composed of:

• a Technical Assistance component, managed by AFD to strengthen regulatory and institutional frameworks in the countries concerned and to prepare financing of private or public sector renewable energy initiatives in Africa.
• a Guarantee Facility managed by Proparco to support investment in off-grid, mini-grid and decentralised power industry players.

Over the next 5 years, Proparco will provide equity or quasi-equity funding for between 5 and 10 African businesses with innovative, high-potential projects. While priority will be given to solar energy projects, other technologies (biomass, mini-hydro, etc.) will also be considered.

Companies eligible to PROPARCO’s investment should:

• Have a proven business model (with strong potential for breakeven within 3 years), an experienced management team, anchor investors and be active in Africa;  
• Implement projects which provide access to electricity or produce decentralized power generation using small scale renewable energy;
• be in an active commercial phase (ability to scale up beyond the pilot phase, proven technology, and significant customer base);

Contacts:

• Kofi Nketsia-Tabiri : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
• Noara Kebir : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Donors: Department for International Development (DFID), German Development Bank (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) (KfW), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Swedish International Development Agency (Sida)

Donor Countries: Germany, Multi-donor, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom

Description: Through a group of subsidiary companies, PIDG offers specialized financing and project development expertise. Each company can customize the right solution for each set of circumstances. Together, these companies are designed to get infrastructure initiatives off the ground in countries which find investment hard to attract.

Location: Sub Saharan Africa

On- or Off-Grid: Not Specified

Geography: Sub Saharan Africa

Eligibility: Lower income countries of the Development Assistance Committee's List of Overseas Development Aid recipients

More info:

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Donors: Department for International Development (DFID), Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Donor Countries: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America

Description: SCAF co-finances – with private equity and venture capital fund managers, and project development companies – the development of new investment vehicles and, once operational, the origination, development and seed financing of early-stage, low-carbon projects.

Location: Sub Saharan Africa

On- or Off-Grid: Not Specified

Geography: Sub Saharan Africa

Eligibility: Eligible partners include low-carbon focused private equity and venture capital funds, as well as certain types of project development companies

More info:

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Donor: Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (NORFUND)

Donor Countries: Norway

Description: Equity, risk capital and loans for commercial companies.

Locations: East Africa Region, Southern Africa Region

On- or Off-Grid: Not Specified

Geography: Southern and Eastern Africa

Eligibility: Norfund always invests jointly with partners, both Norwegian and non-Norwegian, in clean energy, financial institutions and agribusiness, in addition to small and medium sized companies through investment funds.

More info:

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Donor: African Development Bank (AfDB)

Donor Countries: Cote d'Ivoire

Description: Direct equity investments for private companies, project developers, investors, & private equity funds.

Locations: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sub Saharan Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

On- or Off-Grid: Both

Geography: AfDB Regional Member Countries

Eligibility: Applications approved at the discretion of the AfDB

More info:

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FMO is the Dutch development bank. It is our mission to empower entrepreneurs to build a better world. We invest in over 85 countries, supporting jobs and income generation in order to improve people's lives in the parts of the world where we can make the biggest difference.

Energy

FMO finances long-term projects which power economies, promote the transition to a low-carbon system and safeguard energy security.

Power shortages are one of the biggest barriers to development. FMO finances energy projects that not only power economies but also promote the transition to a low-carbon system.

Access to Energy Fund

The Access to Energy Fund is jointly initiated by the Dutch government and FMO in 2007 to support private sector projects aimed at providing long-term access to energy services in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The fund can either directly invest in or lend to a project or motivate a wider range of investor interest. The funding possibilities include:

• Minority shares in equity investments
• Loans of up to € 7 million – in euros, US$ or local currencies
• Early stage equity to contribute to the high-risk, early stage project development phase

Infrastructure Development Fund

The Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) was established in 2002 by the Dutch government and FMO to support private investments in infrastructure. These basic services often lead to direct and immediate improvements in people’s quality of life. Infrastructure is also a means to fulfill wider objectives such as growth, employment, empowerment and poverty reduction.

IDF financing is available for:

• Long-term financing for large infrastructure projects
• Loans of up to €10 million – in euros, US$ or local currencies
• Minority shares in equity investments
• Investments in dedicated infrastructure investment funds
• Early stage equity for new project development.

Know more:

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• Energy
• Access to Energy Fund
• Infrastructure Development Fund

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Swedfund is the Development Finance Institution of the Swedish state. Our goal is to eliminate poverty by creating sustainable business in some of the world’s toughest and most promising growth markets.

Complex investments are part of our everyday work. We offer risk capital and support for business establishment in growth markets in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Risk capital

We offer partnerships as well as partial financing, mainly through equity and loans. We share the risk but each partner takes full responsibility for the establishment and running of the business. Please do not hesitate to get in touch for an initial discussion.

Financial support via Swedpartnership 

Our financing program, Swedpartnership, supports small and medium-sized Swedish companies to enable collaboration with companies in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Our support makes it possible to allocate resources necessary to build stable, long-term and fruitful relations.

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InfraCo Africa seeks to alleviate poverty by mobilising investment into sub-Saharan infrastructure projects. We do this by funding teams of experienced project developers or by investing directly into projects which need the financial commitment and leverage that InfraCo Africa can bring. Our support reduces the risks and costs associated with early stage project development, ensuring that a project develops from concept to bankable investment opportunity.

Helping to develop your projects

We are always keen to hear about new opportunities that fit within our mandate, have a positive developmental impact on communities and require our support to succeed. We can help by providing funding and oversight directly to your project or otherwise by providing experienced resource through our developers. If you have a project that you think could benefit from additional funding and expertise then please review our investment criteria and process and, if eligible, apply.

Getting us involved

We are currently looking for new projects to invest into and support through early-stage development. Projects must:

• be within sub-Saharan Africa;
• be within power, water or transport sectors;
• have the potential to be commercially viable (with our support);
• have a positive developmental impact on the communities they serve;
• need InfraCo Africa to bring something additional, something that no other party can bring to the project; and
• be developed in accordance with our Operating Policies and Procedures.

Our mandate is to mobilise and not displace private sector investment so we will not get involved in a project if it could attract all of the financing it requires from other private or DFI investors.

Know more:

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• Eligible countries
• Apply for funding
• Download Brochure

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AFC’s mission is to help address Africa’s infrastructure development needs while seeking a competitive return on capital for its shareholders. Since it began operations in 2007, AFC has created the building blocks with which to achieve this objective.

We therefore fill key market gaps by participating across the entire project cycle and capital structure, ensuring that projects are well structured and transactions reach financial close.

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REPP works to mobilise private sector development activity – and investment – in small to medium-sized projects (typically up to 25MW), and is supported with £48m ($67m) initial funding from the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the International Climate Finance initiative.

The original concept for the programme was developed by UN Environment and the European Investment Bank in response to the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

REPP's products and support

Development phase capital and support

• REPP provides loans for selected third party development expenses, such as feasibility studies, grid studies, environmental and social impact assessments, legal advice etc. The programme also offers developers general project guidance and support.

Access to risk mitigation instruments

• Instruments are provided by REPP’s partners with the programme’s assistance and coordination, and focus on risks that cannot be cost-effectively managed by the private sector, especially political, regulatory and offtaker risks. REPP also works to reduce risk in the long-term by collaborating with governments on regulatory improvement and demonstrating how regulatory stability can attract more investment leading to greater social benefit.

Gap financing

• REPP helps to bring projects to financial close using a range of financing structures, including bridge financing, construction loans, equity and equity conversion options, results-based financing, results-based loans for mini-grid rollout, subordinated debt, trade finance for SHS, and working capital loans.

Access to long-term lending

• The REPP team uses its wealth of experience and contacts in renewable energy finance across Africa to help projects to structure their funding in the right way, and to secure finance from REPP partners and other financial institutions, both private and public. REPP also encourages debt and risk mitigation instrument providers to coordinate their approval and due diligence requirements to simplify the process for developers.

Know more:

• Visit Website
• Eligible countries
• Apply
• Download Brochure

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Advised by the European Investment Bank Group, GEEREF is an innovative Fund-of-Funds catalysing private sector capital into clean energy projects in developing countries and economies in transition.

GEEREF is uniquely positioned to leverage this opportunity, building on the European Investment Bank Group's institutional expertise in clean energy infrastructure investments and private equity globally.

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The Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI) is a flexible financial facility funded by the European Commission and managed by the Association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI).

ElectriFI aims to support investments that increase and/or improve access to modern, affordable and sustainable energy services. The projects must lead to new and improved connections for populations living principally in rural, under-served areas as well as regions affected by unreliable power supply in developing countries.

Through its investments, ElectriFI promotes the adoption of renewable energy, with a particular emphasis on decentralized energy solutions.

Know more:

• Visit Website
• Quickscan
• Eligible Countries
• Submit Application

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In 2014 Oikocredit established a renewable energy unit in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. In close cooperation with Oikocredit’s network of offices around the globe, the renewable energy unit identifies and develops investment opportunities in renewable and energy efficiency projects in low-income countries. The unit provides financing for solar, wind, small hydropower, biomass and energy-efficiency projects.

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• Loans
• Equity

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The world has made progress in increased energy for all over the last decade; however, the poor continue to be especially vulnerable economically, health-wise, and environmentally. Today, 1.06 billion people, or 13% of the world’s population, are living without it. Our companies—which are innovators in hand-held solar products, distributed power, clean cookstoves, and more— are changing this.

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