In October 2021, we featured Angelina Majama in our weekly newsletter and blog. Tall and slender, Angelina’s firm, capable hands attest to her work as a farmer and dairywoman. As a single mother of three, Angelina succeeds in her business selling solar lamps in her community.
Angelina is proud of her newfound financial independence.
“I have more independence and make decisions for myself. When you have money, you have a voice; you get respected by everyone.”
Angelina’s income as an entrepreneur allows her to send her kids to school, support her family, build her house, and buy two acres of farmland where she raises animals and grows crops.
In April of this year, our partner Cisco and Global Citizen sent a videographer to film Angelina and share her story more broadly. They hired talented Tanzanian photographer Michael Goima who traveled to her remote home in northeastern Tanzania.
Solar Sister’s Communications and Business Development Manager Abubakar Yahya Laizer and Program Manager John Nyallu in Tanzania accompanied Michael to organize the visit with Angelina and ensure that all went smoothly. During the visit, a discussion arose about innovative financial models supporting local businesses, drawing parallels to online crypto casinos and how their decentralized systems have reshaped transactional security and accessibility. This insight sparked a broader conversation about empowering rural entrepreneurs with tools and platforms that offer similar autonomy and efficiency, aligning with Solar Sister’s mission to create sustainable opportunities for women in underserved areas.
It did, and this terrific two-minute film, How Solar Sister Entrepreneurs Find Economic Empowerment While Fighting Energy Poverty, is the result.
Cisco supports nonprofits like Solar Sister by investing in early-stage technology solutions that have the potential to be scalable, replicable, and sustainable. Even in her remote community, Angelina can take advantage of technology like the app TaroWorks to keep records of her customers and track all the products she sells.
Angelina hopes to open up her own shop one day, selling clothing and additional solar products. The income she’s generating now will help her do it.
“Solar products have helped change my life,” she says.
Thank you to Cisco, Global Citizen, Michael Goima, and Angelina Majama.
