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British High Commissioner Jane Marriott praises Roam and Mukuru Clean Stoves for their innovative solutions to help repair and regenerate the planet - another example of Kenya's pioneering commitment to green, clean energy.
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The UK-Kenya Climate partnership has driven investment in clean air projects, including helping Roam secure £6.6m worth of investment.
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The Prince and Princess of Wales will attend the awards in Boston on December 2 to honour the Finalists and celebrate the five 2022 Earthshot Prize Winners.
November 4, 2022 - Today, Prince William and The Earthshot Prize revealed that Roam and Mukuru Clean Stoves, both Kenyan companies, have been selected as Finalists for the second Earthshot Prize. Together, the Finalists are an accomplished group of entrepreneurs and innovators spearheading fifteen groundbreaking solutions to the biggest environmental challenges our planet faces.
The fifteen Finalists will be in the running to receive a £1 million award at the second-annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony. The Prize takes inspiration from President John F. Kennedy's 'Moonshot,' which united millions of people around an organising goal to put man on the moon and catalysed the development of new technology in the 1960s.
Prince William said:
The innovators, leaders, and visionaries that make up our 2022 Earthshot Finalists prove there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of our planet. They are directing their time, energy, and talent towards bold solutions with the power to not only solve our planet's greatest environmental challenges, but to create healthier, more prosperous, and more sustainable communities for generations to come.
I am so excited to celebrate these fifteen Finalists and see the five Winners of The Earthshot Prize announced in Boston - the hometown of President John F. Kennedy, who shared The Earthshot Prize's belief that seemingly impossible goals are within reach if we only harness the limitless power of innovation, human ingenuity, and urgent optimism.
The UK-Kenya Climate partnership has driven investment in clean air projects, including helping Roam secure £6.6m worth of investment to expand their operation.
British High Commissioner to Kenya, Jane Marriott, said:
As Kenya continues to be a pioneer of green, clean energy, it comes as no surprise that Prince William and The Earthshot Prize are honouring Roam and Mukuru Clean Stoves - two of Kenya's most innovative companies - bringing the total to three Earthshot finalists in two years. Both are an example of Kenya's renewed commitment to clean air, and inspiring positive climate action. Both organisations empower women to lead - and make a living by making a difference. The UK is proud to have supported Roam to secure investment to grow their innovative operation. We look forward to taking the UK-Kenya Climate Partnership further at COP27 in Egypt.
Mukuru Clean Stoves is a female-led start-up providing cleaner-burning stoves to women in Kenya to reduce unhealthy indoor pollution and provide a safer way to cook. Today, 200,000 people in Kenya use Mukuru Clean Stoves, saving $10 million in fuel costs, saving lives, and saving time. Mukuru is empowering women to make a living by making a difference.
Charlot Magayi, founder of Mukuru Clean Stoves, said:
Mukuru Clean Stoves began as a solution to a problem that I had felt personally in my own life. Today, we have an opportunity to transform the lives of millions, with cheaper, safer and more sustainable cookstoves and fuels. It is a privilege to be recognised by The Earthshot Prize as we embark on the next step in our journey.
Roam is an organisation building lower emission vehicles, making clean transportation accessible and affordable for urban cities on the African continent. . The company builds motorcycles and buses tailored to the market with affordability and reliability at the forefront. 40% of Roam's employees are female, and estimate that by switching from petrol to electricity, drivers can cut running costs by 75%.
Filip Lovstrom, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Roam, said:
In Kenya, motorcycle taxis so called Boda Boda's are the best way to get around and many rely on them for a living. However, they are also among the highest CO2 emitting vehicles on the market. The company builds motorcycles and buses tailored to the market with affordability and reliability at the forefront. We want to help the environment, and drivers' pockets. We are honoured to be recognised alongside so many other brilliant solutions.
This is Kenya's third Earthshot finalist in two years. In 2021, Kenyan company Sanergy was a finalist in the 'Build a Waste-Free World' category. They were already the largest waste recycling factory in Eastern Central Africa and they now serve three more cities in Kenya. A successful new investment round will allow international expansion. The Earthshot Prize Global Alliance Members, Deloitte and Arup have supported with training, advice and project design.
BACKGROUND
Mukuru Clean Stoves
Charlot Magayi grew up in Mukuru, one of Nairobi's largest slums. For years, she sold charcoal for fuel. That charcoal was the cause of regular respiratory infections for her and her neighbours. Then, in 2012, her daughter was severely burnt by a charcoal-burning stove. Seeking a better solution, in 2017 Magayi founded Mukuru Clean Stoves. Across Africa, 700 million people use solid fuel to cook on open fires and cookstoves that emit toxic chemicals and lack safeguards. As a result, each year accidents and air pollution kill four million people. Mukuru Clean Stoves are different. Rather than burning dangerous solid fuels, they use processed biomass made from charcoal, wood and sugarcane. This burns cleaner, creating 90% less pollution than an open fire and 70 % less than a traditional cookstove. They are cheaper too, costing just $10 and halving ongoing fuel costs. Today, 200,000 people in Kenya use Mukuru Clean Stoves, saving $10 million in fuel costs and saving lives too. In rural areas, where young girls often spend three hours a day collecting firewood, they also save precious time. A female-founded business with mostly female staff and distribution agents, Mukuru is empowering women to make a living by making a difference. Today, Magayi plans to create an even cleaner stove that burns ethanol. In three years, she hopes to reach one million customers. In ten years, she plans to reach ten million people all over Africa.
Roam
The electric vehicle revolution is coming to East Africa. Founded in 2017, Roam began as a research project at a Swedish university. Five years on, the company is bringing affordable, electric transport to one of the world's fastest growing economies: Kenya. In Kenya, motorcycle taxis are the easiest and cheapest way to get around. But the ubiquitous Boda Bodas are major polluters. These motorcycles are among the highest CO2 emitting vehicles on the market, but almost 6% of East Africans rely on them for their daily income. Electric alternatives are either unreliable, of poor quality or too expensive for most Kenyans. Roam spotted an opportunity: electric vehicles made in Africa, designed for the African market. All at the same time designing everything locally with 40% female employees in all areas. The company builds motorcycles and buses tailored to the market with affordability and reliability at the forefront. In harsh terrain, Roam has tested 160 prototypes, raised more than $7.5 million and run a successful pilot programme with M-Kopa, one of the largest asset financiers on the continent. Now the company is poised to scale, with plans to produce 150,000 motorcycles and 800 buses per year by 2026. This is just the start. Roam aims to make electric transport accessible to a far broader market, setting the standard for electric mobility in Africa. The key is the price tag. Because electricity is cheaper than petrol, Roam estimates drivers can cut running costs by 75% - an incentive that works for both people and the planet.
The Earthshot Prize
The Earthshot Prize is centred around five 'Earthshots' - simple, ambitious, and aspirational goals defining the world we wish to build for future generations. The 2022 Earthshot Prize Finalists are:
The Earthshot Prize to Protect and Restore Nature
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Desert Agricultural Transformation, China: A team developing cutting-edge agricultural breakthroughs to turn barren desert landscapes into lush, green ones.
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Hutan, Malaysia: An inspiring conservation model that protects orangutans, supports local jobs and livelihoods and restores forests to their former greatness.
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Kheyti, India: A pioneering solution for local smallholder farmers to reduce costs, increase yields and protect livelihoods in a country on the frontlines of climate change.
The Earthshot Prize to Clean Our Air
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The Ampd Enertainer, Hong Kong: An emission-free electric battery system to power construction and reduce pollution.
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Mukuru Clean Stoves, Kenya: A start-up providing cleaner-burning stoves to women in Kenya to reduce unhealthy indoor pollution and provide a safer way to cook.
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Roam, Kenya: An organisation building lower emission vehicles, making clean transportation accessible and affordable for urban cities on the African continent.
The Earthshot Prize to Revive Our Oceans
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The Great Bubble Barrier, Netherlands: Inventive and ingenious technique to intercept plastics before they reach oceans by creating a curtain of bubbles.
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Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia: An inspiring women-led programme that combines 60,000 years of indigenous knowledge with digital technologies to protect land and sea.
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SeaForester, Portugal: A truly cutting-edge breakthrough in seaweed farming that can restore the ocean's forgotten forests.
The Earthshot Prize to Build A Waste-Free World
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City of Amsterdam Circular Economy, Netherlands: A city-wide initiative to establish a fully circular economy by 2050, wasting nothing and recycling everything.
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Fleather, India: An innovative and regenerative approach to creating leather out of floral waste.
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Notpla, United Kingdom: A circular solution creating an alternative to plastic packaging from seaweed.
The Earthshot Prize to Fix Our Climate
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LanzaTech, USA: A circular solution that recycles carbon waste into sustainable fuels and everyday products.
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Low Carbon Materials, United Kingdom: A new and innovative material that uses unrecyclable plastic waste to make traditional concrete blocks carbon zero.
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44.01, Oman: Childhood friends who have developed an innovative technique to turn CO2 into rock, and permanently store it underground.
In addition to their eligibility for the £1 million prize, all Finalists will receive tailored support and resources from The Earthshot Prize Global Alliance Members, an unprecedented network of private sector businesses around the world committed to helping scale innovative climate and environmental solutions and multiplying their impact.
The five Winners will be selected by The Earthshot Prize Council, a diverse team of influential individuals committed to using their platforms to champion inspiring leadership and elevate urgent efforts to repair and regenerate the planet. The Earthshot Prize Council Members include: HRH Prince William, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Cate Blanchett, Daniel Alves Da Silva, Sir David Attenborough, Ernest Gibson, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Jack Ma, Shakira Mebarak, Yao Ming, Luisa Neubauer, Indra Nooyi, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Naoko Yamazaki.
A truly global project, The Earthshot Prize convenes a diverse nominator coalition of more than 200 people and organisations around the world from every continent, a distinguished Expert Advisory Panel, and The Earthshot Prize Council comprising influential individuals committed to championing positive environmental action.
The fifteen Finalists were assessed by the Expert Advisory Panel of scientific, academic, and subject-matter leaders. Each of the Finalist's solutions excelled in the rigorous screening process and were assessed on their potential to create game-changing impact around the world, and their ability to help us reach our Earthshot challenges while positively impacting people, communities, and the natural world.
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