Accomplished Entrepreneur Award 2022 winners Yariv Cohen and Khalid Baareh Establishing an enterprise in Africa presents multiple challenges, resulting in many companies steering away from the region. One particular risk to operations in many countries stems from lack of infrastructure ­– but Yariv Cohen was undeterred. Determined to bring solar power to the homes of poor rural communities, he co-founded Ignite Power in 2014; choosing, in true entrepreneurial style, to view the many challenges that lay ahead as opportunities to create distributed, digital infrastructure rather than threats. With affordability in deep rural locations at the heart of its value proposition, Ignite Power connects ‘last-mile’ communities across Sub-Saharan Africa to provide them with clean, sustainable and – most importantly –affordable solar-power home systems, as well as other solar solutions, including irrigation and cooking.

Like many other sectors and agendas across the continent, solar power is slowly changing gender norms, setting new paradigms in various fields. Through affordable solar home systems, families living in last-mile communities can get electricity in their homes for the first time, with women and young girls deeply impacted.