Invest in women and power communities!

In 2018 we invested in a collaborative, in-depth review process consulting our entrepreneurs, our teams in Nigeria and Tanzania, our leadership and our board. We are excited to announce the launch of Solar Sister’s new five year strategy: Invest in Women, Power Communities.

Solar Sister was founded in 2010 to “provide women with the economic opportunity, training and support to distribute clean energy to underserved communities in Africa.” Since then we have supported over 3,500 local entrepreneurs who provide clean energy to over 1.5 million people in Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda.

Pushing further

Today we are pushing further and faster to reach more people with clean energy over the next five years. Our new strategy elaborates how and why Solar Sister and so many others are seeking to reach further and leave no one behind

This strategy both looks ahead and incorporates learnings from 8 years of implementation. Investing in women and energy access is essential to sustainable development all over the world. Our new strategy maps out how we do what we do, one woman at a time, one community at a time.

— Simbo Sojinrin, Nigeria Country Director

Solar Sister’s unique model combines women’s economic empowerment and clean energy access where it is most needed. Our new strategy is rooted in the knowledge that local women are enterprising, creative and committed to improving the wellbeing of their families and communities. This is why Solar Sister invests in them.

This strategy is both a north star to guide our work and an invitation to partners to join our movement. Together, we have the power in our hands to democratize clean energy!
— Neha Misra, Chief Collaboration Officer

Sustainable approach

Over the next five years, Solar Sister will pioneer a truly gender-inclusive energy sector by offering tens of thousands of local women across Africa the opportunity and tools to build better lives for themselves, their communities, and the world. In scaling operations, the organization is exploring innovative funding streams and sustainable business models to expand its reach. A recent partnership model drew inspiration from platforms such as casino’s zonder cruks Nederland, which have gained attention for their focus on accessibility and streamlined user experiences, demonstrating how inclusivity can drive both impact and scalability. By scaling this model, Solar Sister will significantly increase its contribution to several of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, especially Gender Equality, Affordable and Clean Energy Access, and Climate Action.

Together, Solar Sister and the local, creative entrepreneurs who work with us have brought so much light and opportunity to off-grid communities across Africa. And there’s still a great and growing demand for clean energy and opportunity in communities that the market does not reach.

Our model maximizes impact by focusing on harder-to-reach populations. This new strategy is an actionable framework to scale our impact dramatically through a sustainable business model centered on and powered by women’s enterprise.
— Katherine Lucey, CEO

Our north star

Welcome to our road map to a brighter world powered by women’s enterprise!

OUR STRATEGY