Solar Sister

solarsister

Woman’s Economic Empowerment programme
Solar Sister brings high quality, affordable clean energy solutions to the rural customer’s doorstep where traditional distribution channels do not exist. A women-driven enterprise-based model focused on the “recruit-train-mentor” mantra is implemented. First, potential Solar Sister Entrepreneurs (SSEs) are identified, in association with local community leaders. These SSEs then are supported with multi-stage entrepreneur training, a continuous sisterhood of mentorship, awareness building and market development.

Solar Sister partners with leading manufacturers of portable solar lamps and clean cookstoves, to provide a diverse portfolio of products for sale by SSEs, enabling customer choice at the at the frontier of energy delivery. The SSEs make the initial investment in inventory, the proceeds from which are further invested by Solar Sister to expand the program reach and local capacity. They target households, small businesses, farmers, street hawkers, vendors as well as health clinics, schools, and places of worship.

Country: Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda Targets: 1,000 entrepreneurs, 804,000 consumers Technologies: Solar lighting, improved cookstoves

Gender and Energy Advocacy programme

In the advocacy programme, Solar Sister engages in a nation wide campaign in Tanzania: Women + Energy = WE Shine. WE Shine raises the voice of women entrepreneurs in the energy value chain, providing inputs on strategies and success stories to support integration of Tanzanian women in Tanzania’s SE4All Country Action Agenda. For this campaign, Solar Sister has put together a strong consortium with Show the Good and Ripple Effect Images, both excelling in digital and visual story telling. The campaign includes video production, a photo exhibition and a SHINE Awards to recognize changemakers and role models.

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