Despite Asia and the Pacific's rapid growth over the past few decades, there remain large development challenges. In the energy sector, 440 million people still lack access to electricity in developing Asia. Securing energy access for these people, most of whom live in remote rural areas and islands, will depend on innovative technologies.

To showcase creative solutions to these challenges and promote the next generation of clean energy entrepreneurs, ADB launched in 2017 the New Energy Leaders Program. During the opening plenary of ACEF 2018, seven New Energy Leaders received awards for 2018 for their work in businesses ranging from off-grid power solutions to large-scale wind and solar, energy efficiency, and digital customer solutions using big data and analytics.

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