james wika 
- d.light named as a finalist for Prince William’s 2024 Earthshot Prize;
The off-grid solar company is one of 15 organisations shortlisted for Prince William’s sustainability-focused award, with five eventual winners receiving £1 million to scale their offerings
d.light, the global provider of transformational household solar products and affordable finance for low-income households, was announced as an Earthshot Prize finalist at the third annual Earthshot Innovation Summit in New York.
Founded by Prince William in 2020, the Earthshot Prize is the world’s most prestigious environmental prize designed to discover, spotlight and scale the groundbreaking solutions we need to repair and regenerate our planet.
The five eventual winners will be crowned at the Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday 6 November, with each receiving £1 million in prize money to support efforts to expand the reach of their transformational products and services.
This year’s shortlist was selected from a pool of close to 2,500 organisations across 139 countries.
d.light is named alongside an inspiring group of global innovators, entrepreneurs, community
leaders and advocates pioneering solutions to our most pressing climate and environmental challenges.
Finalists also earn a place on the Earthshot Fellowship Programme, receiving dedicated mentorship, resources, and technical support, including access to The Prize’s Global Alliance of Partners, a robust network of the world’s largest businesses, donors, investors and environmental organisations committed to climate action.
Commenting on the news, d.light CEO Nedjip Tozun said, “We’re truly honoured to be named as a finalist for such a prestigious award, and recognition from the Earthshot Prize committee is a reflection of d.light’s efforts to support underserved communities by providing
access to safe, affordable off-grid solar solutions.
“2024 has been a landmark year so far for d.light and it’s exciting to see that our impact has extended beyond the solar industry to the wider sustainability community.
Pivotal moments have included raising USD$176 million in securitized financing in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, launching our customer loyalty programme and installing solar in over 1.7 million off-grid households across Africa.
“d.light is the first company in the off-grid energy sector to be nominated for the Earthshot Prize, outlining our credentials as a pioneer in this space.
Since the company was founded in 2007, we’ve developed unique and innovative ways to manufacture, distribute and finance solar projects in the developing world, allowing us to transform the lives of over 175 million people in the process.
“To be named as a finalist helps us amplify our core message that so many still live without access to a safe source of electricity, while supporting our efforts to spearhead the rollout of
reliable solar solutions,” Tozun concluded.
“With this milestone, d.light moves one step closer to achieving our wider aim of transforming the lives of one billion people by 2030 by giving them access to safe, clean, affordable renewable energy.”
