Focal area: Womens economic empowerment
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COVID-19 and Women’s Energy Entrepreneurship: A conversation with five women entrepreneurs about adapting to a crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has created new and unusual obstacles for industries around the world. The clean cooking and sustainable energy sectors are no exceptions. Women entrepreneurs are rising to the challenge, even as many are bearing additional responsibilities. To better understand these challenges, Sustainable Energy for All, the Clean Cooking Alliance, ENERGIA, and members of…
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How the pandemic has changed Onyinye Onye Ndimele’s daily business
The corona virus is really affecting my business, because for weeks now, I have been indoor with my family. I cannot follow-up in the places I had gone before the lock-down to advertise my business and various appointments I made have been suspended because of the pandemic. Onyinye Onye Ndimele, a Solar Sister Entrepreneur…
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How Assy Ba is coping with the severe impacts on her business
My business has been heavily affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, due to the restrictions placed on travels. The economic impact on my activity is severe. Once my savings are gone, I will not have any other sources of income to feed my family, let alone to repay my business loan. Assy is a…
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Kamala Bhattarai’s race against time
One morning, I went to my poultry farm to see the chickens and I was shocked seeing almost 700 chickens lying dead. I was speechless. I don’t know how I came back home. My daughter tried to talk to me but I was unconscious and could not respond to her. When I regained consciousness,…
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Jane Anyango Kola’s post-coronavirus hopes for her community
I believe that this crisis could be an opportunity to promote clean and modern energy services in rural areas. This would also help my business grow, while improving health and education in my community. Jane Anyango Kola lives in Homabay Town, on the shores of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya. She has been…
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Aïssata Ba thinks outside the box to keep her business going in trying times
Following the success of her previous vegetable harvest, Aïssata Ba started a second agricultural cycle of tomatoes and cabbages, towards the end of 2019. From seeds to seedlings, she nurtured the crops using a solar-powered water pump to keep them well irrigated. Abundance of water and sun turned her 0.15 hectares of land in…
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Sanu Maya Shrestha’s journey towards self-independence
Sanu Maya Shrestha, age 33, residing in the rural municipality of Konjyosom, Nepal, is a successful entrepreneur engaged in multiple enterprises with the support of her husband Surya Narayan Shrestha. Prior to building their business, they were engaged in family agriculture and vegetable farming, which was not sufficient to meet the increasing expenses of the…
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I am proof that women too can excel in solar installations
Rebecca Aseyo is a 33-year-old solar sales agent for Sun King Company, in Kakamega County, Kenya. Widow and mother of three children, she also takes care of her sister’s two children. Apart from selling solar products, Rebecca also sells second hand ladies clothes. After a hard toil of sourcing funds to go to college…
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Meena Basnet: “Supporting women entrepreneurs is what drives me”
By Gyanu Bist Meena Basnet has dedicated herself to supporting women entrepreneurs for 12 years. She has always been interested in social services. Encouraging startups and pushing existing entrepreneurs is her passion. “Mentoring helps women with decision-making, especially in rural areas. It reduces their feeling of isolation and improves their satisfaction. The handholding provided to…
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Rehema Leander Kabuta: A Wedding Gift that changed her life
By Thabit Mikidadi “She started raising chickens and ducks when we were living in a rented house” recalls her husband Leonard, recognizing the entrepreneurship zeal his wife has. Rehema has always been active to pursue business opportunities. “I started baking with aluminum placed over burning charcoal over pots and sand when I was young”,…
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Catherine Olapade: “I have understood the business very well and I am now a role model to other people in my community”
By Chinenye Anekwe, Solar Sister Taking up challenges is what can be used to describe Catherine Omowumi Olapade, a Solar Sister Champion who resides in Ayegunle area of Ilorin South LGA, a suburb of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. As a secondary school teacher and also a farmer, the 55-year-old single mother of four wanted to…
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Omowumi Johnbull: A natural entrepreneur, problem-solver and systems-lover
By Fid Thompson, Solar Sister Meet Omowumi Johnbull, a natural entrepreneur, problem-solver, systems-lover, and Solar Sister dynamic Management Administrator in Nigeria. If we could bottle her energy, it would probably power a nation. Wumi, as she is known, is from Ondo State in southwest Nigeria, but she has also lived in Edo State and…