The Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership (“Global LEAP”) Outstanding Off-Grid Appliance Awards (“Global LEAP Awards”) seek to transform the global market for off-grid energy products by recognizing and rewarding the most energy-efficient, highest quality off-grid appliances. As an initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial led by the U.S. Department of Energy, Global LEAP seeks to advance global clean energy access goals by harnessing the power of marketplace competition to drive technical and market innovations in the off-grid appliance sector.

Refrigeration holds unique potential to unlock economic and social progress for the billions of un- and under-electrified people globally. For example, refrigeration can facilitate the development of income-generating micro-enterprises, prolong the shelf life of fresh foods, reduce spoilage and waste, diversify and enhance the nutritional value of diets, and reduce the time that households (particularly female household members) spend shopping or gathering food. However, the market for off-grid refrigeration products is nascent and the prevalence of refrigerators in developing countries, particularly in rural areas, remains extremely low. Highly energy-efficient, appropriately designed and priced refrigerators are essential to this market’s development and to its subsequent positive development impacts.

The Global LEAP Awards Off-Grid Refrigerator Competition is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Scaling Off-Grid Energy: A Grand Challenge for Development initiative, the U.K. Department for International Development’s (DFID) Ideas to Impact Programme, Power Africa’s Beyond the Grid initiative, and the U.S. Department of Energy. The following resource provides more information about the 2016-2017 Off-Grid Refrigeration Competition Overview.