Core Focus - Frugal Innovation in the context of Africa’s Energy ecosystem
The Energy Lab works with leading organizations spanning the energy industry and cross disciplinary experts, to support and create innovative solutions that address challenges affecting the community.
We start by identifying problems in the industry, then scout for startups/entrepreneurs that develop technological solutions to solve the identified problems. These solutions are built leveraging frugal techniques whereby solutions are developed where there are limitations in resources forcing the innovators to do more with less i.e. capital is low, resources are scarce, or infrastructure is in need of upgrading.
Our Purpose
To become the leading energy ecosystem builder, enabling disruptive frugal innovations which result into groundbreaking solutions and technologies that will sustainably transform the energy industry.
Our Niche
We aim to achieve our purpose through:
- Community building through stakeholder engagements, education initiatives and networking.
- Designing innovation programs using our 4D Methodology (Discover, Develop, Deploy, and Data).
- Unlocking innovative financing for investment opportunities relevant to the sector.
Thematic areas
Clean energy solution
- Universal & Equitable access
- Energy Efficiency
- Energy for Productive use
- Energy, Environment & Climate Action Programming
Financing for startups
- Types of accessible capital (finance/funding)
- Innovative financing mechanisms
Energy supply chain optimization
- Local manufacturing capabilities
- Local testing and certification facilities
- Quick and scalable distribution models
Mainstreaming cross cutting issues
- Types of accessible capital (finance/funding)
- Innovative financing mechanisms
