GVEP has been running business plan contests to award financial and technical help, such as the IDEAS Energy Innovation Contest and the Access to Clean Energy Challenge East Africa, in partnership with the IDB, GIZ and the Korean fund in Latin America and with the BiD Network in East Africa.
IDEAS is an Energy Innovation Contest intended to support the development outstanding companies and organisations contributing to the growth and promotion of renewable energy. IDEAS was first launched in February 2009, with funding from the Netherlands Directorate-General of Development Cooperation (DGIS), Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ), and the Korean Government. We received over 1,000 business proposals from 28 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. We chose 26 winners, who each received a two-year development grant of up to US$200,000. GVEP and the other contest sponsors also committed to working closely with each winner to provide technical advice, access to other experts and institutions, and introductions to funders and investors. GVEP’s support allowed them to turn their ideas into commercially viable energy businesses.
A new IDEAS Energy Innovation Contest was launched on February 2012, this time focussed on supporting the development of innovative projects and ideas promoting renewable energies, and improving energy efficiency and the access to energy in the Caribbean.
In 2009 GVEP teamed up with Dutch ngo the BiD Network to launch a competition for business energy ideas aimed at delivering access to clean energy to people in East Africa. The winners were eligible to receive coaching on the development of their business idea, and the best of the business plans received a mix of grant support and investment.
Founded by Harry Nielsen, an American transplant, the company developed an innovative product which charges a power pack using surplus power from a car engine, and is able to be used to power a home which is not grid connected or during frequent load shedding. The company was identified through the Access to Clean Energy Challenge GVEP conducted with BiD and Barclays and was given an initial grant of$15,000. This enabled the entrepreneur to conduct a marketing trial to establish demand for the product. Initial results from the marketing tests were encouraging and a second grant was made to provide essential working capital. Together with GVEP, a plan was agreed for the business to reach breakeven during the first half of 2011. Financial systems were put in place to enhance the ability for the company to track its financial performance and report to management and potential investors. The company expects to close 2011 with sales in excess of $500,000 and achieve a profit of around $40,000. Since the initial grant, the business has continued to grow quickly, and is actively working with GVEP to seek additional funding from debt and equity providers to finance its expansion. It has continued to grow in stature as well, signing MoUs with several of the largest employers in Uganda to sell to their employees, and has even attracted the attention of the President of Uganda.
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