Mobisol, a Germany-based provider of smart solar solutions in Rwanda, has been awarded the Momentum for Change Award by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

The firm was named among 16 inspiring "lighthouse activities” during the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, the firm said in a statement.

The solar service provider won in the Information Communication Technology Solutions category.

The award was in recognition of the Germany-based company’s efforts to provide micro-financed solar home systems in Rwanda, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the award highlights some of the most innovative, scalable and replicable examples of what people are doing to address the issue of climate change.

Mobisol is currently East Africa’s largest rent-to-own solar energy provider and has so far connected over 35,000 households across the region.

"Working with reliable partners, like the Government of Rwanda and the European Union, Mobisol strives to continue fostering economic growth, educational opportunities and climate change mitigation by empowering hundreds of thousands of households and businesses, as well as schools and public institutions in the country,” Thomas Gottschalk, the Mobisol chief executive officer, said in the statement.

Gottschalk said emerging innovation-driven nations, such as Rwanda, have the opportunity to significantly reduce environmentally damaging practices and become global models for a sustainable future.

The Momentum for Change Award is spearheaded by the UNFCCC secretariat as part of wider efforts to mobilise action and ambition as national governments work toward adopting a new universal climate agreement.

Mobisol Rwanda, is working with the Energy Development Corporation Limited (EDCL) and the EU to power over 49,000 households and 1,000 schools in the next four years.

Alex Ruzigura, the Mobisol Rwanda marketing manager, told this newspaper recently that beneficiaries acquire subsidised solar systems, with an option of paying for the equipment in installments for a period of over 36 months.

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