The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is pleased to announce Betty Ikalany as the winner of the inaugural Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The award recognizes outstanding female leaders in the household energy sector who are advancing clean cooking solutions in emerging markets.

For several years Betty has led efforts to advance clean cooking solutions in Uganda and served as a role model and mentor for other women in her community. As one of Betty’s nominators put it: “Betty has been a huge advocate for women in her community. She has gone out of her way to hire women who have been abused or suffered from other tragedies, and has served as a role model for young women and men. Betty is passionate about improving the lives of women by saving them time, effort, and bettering their health.”

Betty is the founder of Appropriate Energy Saving Technologies (AEST) LTD, a woman-led social enterprise that creates livelihood opportunities for women in the improved cookstove and clean fuel value chain in Eastern Uganda. AEST is a past grantee of the Women’s Empowerment Fund and Betty is a 2015 MIT D-Lab Scale-Ups fellow under USAID-funded International Development Innovation Network (IDIN).