Judy Gatwiri is a dynamic entrepreneur from Isiolo, Kenya, an arid region in central Kenya where access to energy remains a challenge. Known simply as “Judy” across the region, she has built a strong reputation for her business acumen and community spirit.
Judy is a role model, especially for women in her community.
Through her small shop, which sells household goods and clothing, Judy has added her new product line: clean energy. Since joining Solar Sister, Judy has reached out to the women in her community and encouraged them to start small and work towards growing their businesses.
“When I joined Solar Sister as an entrepreneur, I would sell just one stove a week,” Judy says. “Then it became two, and before long, I was selling five cookstoves.
I make sure to display the lamps and stoves prominently in my mini shop so they can see them and get curious. I take them through the impact that the clean cookstoves have on the environment and the savings in their pockets because it saves on energy.”
Judy says she received additional advice from her Business Development Associate, Josephat Mithika, to use her profits from the cookstoves to buy and sell local shopping bags alongside the cookstoves and solar lamps. She couldn’t be happier, as these items sell quickly, helping her replenish her stock of cookstoves.