A panel of judges including Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Sir Richard Branson has awarded British charity SolarAid a £500,000 Global Impact Award from Google’s Global Impact Challenge to help it eradicate the use of kerosene lamps in Africa by 2020.
The award will be used to ship 144,000 solar lights to rural Tanzanian families and create jobs for over 400 solar entrepreneurs.
Four Google Global Impact Awards were yesterday awarded to “British non-profits using technology to tackle the world’s toughest problems”.
SolarAid tackles the issues of poverty, health, education, unemployment and global warming by creating sustainable markets for solar lights throughout rural Africa.
598 million African people live without access to electricity, and small solar lights provide an alternative to the expensive, toxic kerosene lamps often used for lighting.
Steve Andrews, SolarAid CEO, said: “Giving people access to simple solar technology impacts poverty and changes lives forever. The Global Impact Award will not only help us get 144,000 solar lights into Tanzania but create a sustainable model for solar distribution, market and job creation we can replicate across the continent. The impact of the technology and the effect of the award will be astounding.”
British charity SolarAid wins £500,000 #Google award
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