At 51, Pauline Siele is putting aside money for a dream she’s held onto for years: going back to school, even at her ‘advanced age.”
“It’s never too late to get an education,” she says, reflecting on her journey as a Solar Sister entrepreneur. “I never got the chance to stay in school. My advice to women is to work together as we do in our Ndanai Sisterhood Group, hold each other’s hands, and work hard.
Pauline, a hardworking entrepreneur from Bomet County, Kenya, joined Solar Sister in June 2024. Inspired by a friend’s success, she was determined to bring light to her community. With no access to electricity, she saw an opportunity to improve her own life while providing a vital service to her neighbors.
“When I joined Solar Sister a year ago, I had a dream to replace my goats, which I had sold to pay for other needs like school fees,” Pauline recalls. “It helped to see a friend doing well in the solar lamp business since we don’t have electricity in most of Bomet. I thought this would be the best opportunity to make money while lighting up my community. My friend introduced me to the Solar Sister team, and I immediately took the opportunity to bring light to my area, where most people rely on kerosene.”
Pauline is also an active church member and has found many clients among her fellow churchgoers. She regularly travels from market to market, selling solar lamps and expanding her customer base.
“I no longer sit around my home because I lack anything to do. I’ve mastered the market days in the different parts of Bomet, and I take my wares for sale. We’ve grown a big business community that moves from one market to another, selling different types of products. Recently, I started selling clean cookstoves, too, since they have higher profit margins and are friendly for the environment. When my friends see me using the stove, they get interested and buy from me.”
One of Pauline’s favorite aspects of the Solar Sister program is the training she’s received.
“The classes have been a huge motivation for me and my friends. We’ve learned so much about making sales, saving money, and how to invest in our business. On top of this, we’ve made friends along the way. Some of my closest friends today are women I met through the Sisterhood meetings. I’ve also recruited two friends, Jane and Beatrice Chebet, into the program. I believe that a woman empowered is a society empowered. It is my delight to see more and more women becoming financially empowered, especially widows who are the sole breadwinners for their families.”
When asked about her dreams, Pauline shares her hopes for the future.
“In our first training, we were asked why we wanted to do this. I said I wanted to buy more goats since most of mine had been sold to support my family. Today, I am a proud owner of three goats, all purchased with the profits from selling solar lamps.
I’ve learned so much from the classes, including how to relate better with others in our community.”