Cooling system will remedy climate-consequences in developing countries
A new cooling system introduced in Kenya, is one of two partnerships with Danish participation that gets support by the international initiative P4G. The aim is to find solutions, built on new technology and local cooperation in the developing countries, that can halt the consequences of climate-changes in Africa and Asia.
The partnerships innovative solutions are small but important steps towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.
“We are facing great worldwide climate-challenges, that must be solved now. If we are to succeed, everyone must chip in. Therefore, it is meaningful to strengthen the international collaborations between companies, authorities and civil society organizations”, says Minister of Developing Collaborations Rasmus Prehn.
Solar-powered cooling system to reduce food waste
In Kenya, the Danish solar cell- company M-Payg and the Danish and Kenyan branches of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), are collaborating on reducing food waste for local fishermen.
“The worlds nature and resources are the subject of massive pressure and overconsumption. At the same time, there are far too many people starving. We both can and must better this. By developing new technologies and using them in vulnerable areas, we will be able to both take better care of our planet and feed more people. With better cooling systems and transportation, we can make the daily catch available for the populations that most need it”, says Bo Øksnebjerg – Secretary General of WWF.
Based on market studies in Kenya, M-Payg assesses that, due to the lack of cooling systems, between 30-40% of all catch is lost before reaching its market.
“There is a big shortage of cooling technology for the fishermen in Kenya, which often means that the daily catch spoils before they get a chance to sell it. To solve this problem, we have developed a cheap solar cell-solution, that gives the fishermen the opportunity to keep their catch cool on the boat. This way, they can earn much more, while diminishing their food waste”, says Asger Trier Bing – CEO of M-Payg.
Stronger together
The collaboration has developed a scalable business model, based on core strengths from both M-Payg as a company and WWF as an environmental organization.
“The strength of the collaboration is that we collect all the partners, that can create an improvement now and create a more sustainable development in the future. We collaborate across authorities, NGO´s and companies to get all parts strengthened from the start. In WWF, we have a big knowledge about Kenya’s opportunities and challenges, while our partner M-Payg has the innovative, technological solutions. This makes for a durable business-model, that really benefits the local population”, says Bo Øksnebjerg.