Rwanda hospital improvement project wins startup contest

After presenting a business case to improve power and electrical supply to hospitals in Rwanda, Alliander & Cordaid won the "Best New Partnership Award" in The Partnership Election 2014. This competition challenges young professionals to form a partnership with a NGO and/or the government and develop a business case in a developing country. The project was launched by Foreign Trade and Development Minister Lilianne Ploumen along with Unilever CEO Paul Polman, and Amsterdam-based social entrepreneurship firm The Punchy Pack. Ten nominated teams made up of young entrepreneurs presented their plans to try and win start-up capital for projects in developing countries. Winners were announced earlier this week. Alliander & Cordaid's plan is to stabilize the unreliable power supply of hospitals in Africa, which will also result in savings in the direct production of energy. The team received a prize of 2,500 euro in operating capital, a media package worth ten thousand euro and a lunchtime business consultation with the contest's judges. The judges include Jeroen Roodenburg, Ambassador of the Private Sector & Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Talitha Muuse, founder of Duurzame Jonge 100, and Ruurd Brouwer, former director of the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO).

SimGas, Waste and FINISH received the "Best Existing Partnership Award 2014". They supply millions of dairy farmers in India with biogas sanitation systems, which results in higher profits for milk. Sugar: Make it Work received the "Public-Private-Partnership Award 2014". They developed a sustainable solution for watermanagement to reduce floods in the sugar sector in Rwanda. This leads to more fertile farmland, a higher quality harvest and more employment opportunities.