Reinforcing its green credentials, Barefoot Power was one of two winners in the 2010 Consensus GreenTech Awards on Friday.
The GreenTech Awards were announced in Sydney by AusIndustry NSW State Manager Russell Edwards and Dimension Data National Sales Director Christopher Long.
Set up to recognise Australian and New Zealand organisations developing environmentally friendly ‘green’ technologies, the GreenTech Awards identify innovative solutions in green technology, clean technology and sustainability.
In awarding Barefoot Power with one of only two awards, GreenTech judges said: “This Award is for Barefoot Power’s business innovation and business success in the most challenging market – where the need is greatest without the ability to pay.
“The Judges recognise that Barefoot Power is applying existing technologies in innovative ways to ‘Light up the World’. Their ‘Business in a Bag’ particularly impressed the Judges. They have looked at the market in a new way – light for school children, charged mobile phones for families, power for communities, and have a winning solution – Congratulations!”
It is this sort of recognition that makes investors sit up and take notice of Barefoot Power, co-founder Stewart Craine said.
“This has been a great year for such recognition at a national and international level for our enterprise, which is just about to reach its initial target of providing lighting to one million people,” Mr Craine said.
This finalist placing concludes a big year for Barefoot Power, which was one of 14 winners in the G-20 SME Finance Challenge, one of two winners at the first CTI PFAN Africa Forum for Clean Energy Financing and won three awards in the World Bank’s Lighting Africa program.
“These wins will help significantly with our current Series B round of equity capital raising. We are now looking for more investors, especially Australian investors, as most of our funding currently comes from overseas,” he added.
The Consensus GreenTech Awards are supported by Austrade, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, Australian Computer Society and Connection Research and were sponsored by AusIndustry and Dimension Data.
Barefoot Power also secured a €1 million grant from the European Union this year and was named in the 2010 and 2009 Australian Anthill Smart 100 Awards.
The company was recently been featured on the Sky News Business Social Business show, in conjunction with the Centre for Social Impact, and appeared on ABC’s New Inventors program in July.
The European Union, Ashoka, G-20, CTI PFAN and the Centre for Social Impact are valued supporters of Barefoot Power.
For more information visit www.barefootpower.com
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