AMSTERDAM – Kenyan clean fuel startup – Leafy Ke – has been named winner of the world renowned ClimateLaunchpad competition for 2019. Thousands of global early stage companies applied, with 137 top innovators selected to go head-to-head for the chance to join Europe’s number one clean teach accelerator, led by EIT Climate-KIC, during a ceremony in Amsterdam last week.
Reacting to the win, Peter Gachanja, COO of Leafy Ke, which ‘converts used diapers into fuel for homes’, said: “This means so much to us. This means parents will be able to look after their families better. Children won’t have to sleep with smoke in their homes from dirty fuel. And carbon emissions can be significantly reduced.”
With the slogan: saving the world one start-up at a time ClimateLaunchpad has been supporting green innovators maximise their impact for six years. Next year it has plans to extend the reach of the competition across 70 countries.
“EIT Climate-KIC is delighted to continue the ClimateLaunchpad as one of our signature initiatives,” said Dr Kirsten Dunlop (pictured), CEO of EIT Climate-KIC. “This is a fantastic years’ worth of thoughtful commitment to climate action, and we are looking forward now to supporting those entrepreneurs and those individuals to take their ideas into the whole system of initiatives that we are supporting.”
Get the lowdown on all the Amsterdam finalists.
