G’Day USA: Australia Week 2010 today announced that Solar-Gem, a company from New South Wales, won the 2010 Australian Innovation Shoot Out, a competition to promote Australian innovation by showcasing the country’s most pioneering technology companies. The 4th annual Innovation Shoot Out was hosted at Microsoft’s Mountain View, Calif. campus.

Solar-Gem provides modular solar-powered off-grid lighting and electricity systems, pre-pay tariffing systems, and high-efficiency LED lighting modules targeting the 1.6 billion people without access to power.

ANZA Technology Network was an in-kind sponsor of the event and provided 100 hours of coaching to the seven state finalists to get their presentations ready for a US audience. One of the prizes Solar-Gem will receive as the winner of the Shoot Out is a slot in this year’s Gateway to the US program, or credit toward participation the Fast Track to the US program.

“Participating in the Innovation Shoot Out was an extremely valuable opportunity. The advice, feedback and guidance we received from everyone involved gives us the building blocks we need to work towards our goal of breaking into the US market,” said CEO and co-founder, Khimji Vaghjiani, Solar-Gem. “We look forward to putting this advice into action and continuing to build on the success we’ve already experienced.”