Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, launched the Green ICT competition in October 2010. The competition looked for solutions that improve business opportunities and create new environmentally friendly business.
MHG’s idea for the development of a global sustainable monitoring system for feedstock supply chain management (a case study of the Republic of Ghana) was selected – together with ideas from Mitron and Academica / Helsingin Energia – as the best solution from the 31 solutions submitted to the corporate competition.
In addition to Tekes, the jury consisted of representatives from the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, Motiva, Finnish Federation for Communications and Teleinformatics (FiCom) and Tietoviikko.
The evaluation focused on the functionality, appropriateness and impressiveness of the overall solution with regards to utilising green ICT more extensively. The evaluation criteria emphasised the following: the business viability of the idea, the realisation of the environmental and climate-related objectives, improving efficient use of materials and energy, the possibility of replicating the solution, effects on the development of productivity and quality of services, and the cooperation between the private and public sector.
“MHG’s proposed solution meets all aforementioned criteria. The goal of the solution is to build a MHG Bioenergy ERP service that fits into the Ghanaian business environment and that can be used to monitor all types of biomasses and also to manage supply chains,” said managing director Seppo Huurinainen.
“We also have an excellent team with specialists from Ghana’s Ministry of Energy and other companies operating in the Ghanaian energy industry,” Huurinainen pointed out.
Key Ghanaians, Doctor Adebayo Abgejule from the Vaasa Polytechnic, and the African Business Developer Eric Buah, from MHG Systems, said: “Now we have real chance of promoting energy-related projects in Ghana and Africa using MHG’s tools and with the help of funding coming from Tekes and other partners.”