Insights from 400 entrepreneurs show how clean energy businesses are increasing income, confidence, and opportunity for families and communities.
Each year, Solar Sister conducts an End-of-Year-Survey with entrepreneurs across our network to understand how their businesses are growing and how their lives are changing.
In 2025, 400 Solar Sister entrepreneurs from Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria shared their experiences. The results offer a clear picture of the impact of women-led clean energy businesses—and the challenges entrepreneurs continue to face.
What we heard reinforces something we see every day: when women gain access to training, products, and support, they build stronger businesses, invest in their families, and create positive change in their communities.
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Women Gain Economic Power
- Solar Sister entrepreneurs reported greater control over financial decisions in their households than before joining the program.
- Women also reported being comfortable spending more than twice as much independently as they could before joining Solar Sister.
- Entrepreneurship is also opening new business opportunities. Nearly 2/3 of entrepreneurs invested in at least one additional business in 2025, using solar products to start or support ventures such as phone charging stations, storefront lighting, solar fishing lights, and milling businesses.
A Pathway Out of Poverty
The survey also looked at household poverty levels using the Poverty Probability Index. The findings are encouraging: Solar Sister entrepreneur households are significantly less likely to live below the national poverty line than the broader target population. Entrepreneurship provides women with a pathway to generate income, build assets, and create greater stability for their families.
Growing Confidence and Leadership
Economic opportunity also leads to personal growth and leadership. Entrepreneurs reported feeling more confident speaking in public, approaching new people, and engaging with authority figures. In fact, entrepreneurs now report feeling comfortable speaking to groups 3.5 times larger than before joining Solar Sister. Beyond formal roles, many entrepreneurs are also becoming advocates for women’s economic participation, encouraging other women to start businesses and take control of their finances.
Ten percent of surveyed entrepreneurs now hold formal leadership roles in their communities.
Investing in the Next Generation
The benefits of entrepreneurship extend far beyond the individual entrepreneur. One of the clearest ripple effects is education. The proportion of entrepreneurs’ children enrolled in school increased from 83% before joining Solar Sister to 95% in 2025. Entrepreneur income is often used to pay school fees, ensuring children—both boys and girls—can stay in school.
As one entrepreneur shared in the report:
In this day and age, it is not only men that provide—because women are no longer liabilities.” Nigerian Solar Sister Entrepreneur
Women Driving Change in Their Communities
Entrepreneurs also play an important role as community leaders and role models. More than half of entrepreneurs reported actively discussing topics such as women’s financial independence, leadership, and gender equality with people in their communities. Most of these conversations happen through everyday relationships, with neighbors, customers, savings groups, and local networks. Communities recognize the value these women bring. Entrepreneurs reported that community members admire their hard work, integrity, persistence, and commitment to helping others.
Yes, we do [talk about gender equity], before we didn’t, because in my tribe they don’t allow women to work, but now there is awareness, and women can do business.” Nigerian Solar Sister Entrepreneur.
Challenges Entrepreneurs Face
While the results highlight significant progress, entrepreneurs also shared the challenges they face.
- Many reported that economic instability, rising prices, and fluctuating market conditions made it harder to grow their businesses in 2025.
- Demand for clean energy products also shifted. While most entrepreneurs continue to see strong interest, some reported that customers are struggling to afford products due to economic pressures.
- Climate conditions also affect business. Entrepreneurs described how unpredictable weather and seasonal disruptions can impact travel, sales, and agricultural income in their communities.
Looking Ahead
Despite these challenges, Solar Sister entrepreneurs continue to build resilient businesses and create opportunities in their communities. Solar Sister is expanding support for entrepreneurs through:
- new productive-use-of-energy (PUE) products
- training to strengthen business resilience
- partnerships to reduce product costs
- new data tools to help entrepreneurs identify market opportunities.
The survey confirms what we see across the Solar Sister network: when women entrepreneurs gain access to clean energy businesses, the impact extends far beyond a single sale.
A woman is the mirror of the family and community.” Tanzanian Solar Sister Entrepreneur.
Women rise. Communities shine.