Solar Sister envisions a brighter world powered by women entrepreneurs. Women’s rights, climate justice and energy justice are intersectional issues that need integrated solutions. Solar Sister believes women are a key part of the solution to the sustainable energy access and climate change challenge. This is why we invest in women’s enterprise and leadership in off-grid communities. We see the opportunity to empower women and to reach those who aren’t reached by business-as-usual energy models. We know that centering local women in a rapidly growing clean energy sector is essential to eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable solutions to climate change and a host of development issues.
Local women are enterprising, creative, hardworking, and committed to improving the wellbeing of their families and communities. Women like Solar Sister Nanbet, a formidable woman raising five children on her own. A farmer and clean energy entrepreneur, Nanbet sells solar lights, phone chargers and clean stoves in her community and uses the profits to pay for fertilizers and laborers for her farm and to send her grandchildren to school.
We founded Solar Sister in 2010 to provide women with economic opportunity, training and support to distribute clean energy to underserved communities in Africa. Since then we have directly supported women to create over 3,000 sustainable businesses that provide clean energy to over 1.3 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Shine Campaign Commitment
Over the next five years, Solar Sister will support over 10,000 women to build clean energy businesses that reach over 10 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa with clean energy technology. Solar Sister is committing to collaborating with Shine campaign and partners to achieve our mission by accomplishing the following strategic goals:
- Women Power – generate economic opportunity and livelihoods for women
- Energy Access – eradicate energy poverty in underserved communities
- Advocacy – advocate for investment in women and gender inclusion at all levels of the clean energy value chain
- Scaling What Works – grow our impact through direct replication of our proven model and through data-driven innovation and partnerships
As a pioneer in building a gender-inclusive energy access sector, Solar Sister will continue leading by investing in women, to build better lives for themselves, their communities, and, in turn, the world. By scaling our model, Solar Sister will continue to contribute to multiple United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 1 – No Poverty, SDG 2 – Good Health, 5 – Gender Equality, SDG 7- Affordable and Clean Energy Access, SDG 13- Climate Action, SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goal.