Solar Sister

Solar Sister operates as a social enterprise focused on the intersection of women's empowerment, energy poverty, and climate change in sub-Saharan Africa. The organization was founded in 2010 by Katherine Lucey, a former investment banker with over 20 years of experience in energy finance on Wall Street. The inspiration for Solar Sister came during Lucey's work with a foundation installing solar systems in Ugandan schools, where she recognized the transformative potential of energy access and identified a critical distribution gap for clean energy solutions in last-mile communities. The initial pilot program began in 2010 with ten women entrepreneurs in Uganda.

The business model centers on recruiting, training, and supporting a network of women entrepreneurs to distribute clean energy products directly to homes in rural and remote communities. This direct-sales approach, often described as a "business in a bag," provides women with initial inventory, marketing materials, and comprehensive training to build and scale their own sustainable businesses. The training curriculum covers business skills like marketing and record-keeping, leadership, and technical knowledge about the products. Solar Sister's product portfolio includes a range of quality-assured items such as portable solar lamps, mobile phone chargers, and fuel-efficient clean cookstoves, which are sold with a warranty and support. This model serves individuals and households in off-grid areas in Tanzania, Nigeria, and Kenya. In 2022, Solar Sister merged with LivelyHoods Kenya to expand its impact.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid model that combines commercial revenue from product sales with grants and donations from partners, foundations, and investors like the U.S. Department of State and Development Innovation Ventures. This structure allows the enterprise to be scalable and sustainable while pursuing its social mission. The entrepreneurs purchase inventory, and the proceeds are reinvested to expand the program's reach. The impact of this model is multi-faceted; entrepreneurs increase their household income and gain financial independence, while customers save money previously spent on kerosene, improve family health by reducing indoor air pollution, and benefit from extended hours of light for studying and productivity. To date, Solar Sister has empowered over 12,100 entrepreneurs, reached over 5.5 million people with clean energy products, and mitigated over 2 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Keywords: women empowerment, clean energy access, social enterprise, rural Africa, direct sales network, last-mile distribution, solar lighting, clean cookstoves, energy poverty, sustainable development, gender equity, climate justice, economic opportunity, entrepreneurship training, micro-enterprise, off-grid solutions, Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, Katherine Lucey