In recent years, Nigeria, in particular, has experienced increased climate-related disasters. In October 2022, major floods disrupted activities across Nigeria, displacing over 1.4 million people and destroying an estimated 110,000 hectares of agricultural land, which has a tremendous effect on the local economy and the livelihoods of displaced families. The socio-economic impacts of flooding and the resulting displacement have the most severe impacts on women and children, increasing their financial, security, and agency risks and disrupting opportunities for income generation.
Solar Sister identified 50 women living in vulnerable conditions following the flooding in Taraba, Benue, and Nassarawa states and supported them to become Solar Sister entrepreneurs. Recognizing the unique challenges these women faced, Solar Sister adapted its model to remove barriers to entrepreneurship for these women and developed additional, targeted support systems to help enable their success.
The women participating in Solar Sister’s graduated business training and mentorship gained access to a tested product pipeline and warranty support. They were integrated into local Solar Sister Sisterhood groups for networking, support, and encouragement. While Solar Sister’s traditional model supports women to raise their capital to invest in their solar business, the economic conditions of the flood-affected communities made this initial investment nearly impossible for this population. Solar Sister recognized this barrier and provided the initial startup capital for these women through solar product inventory. Additionally, the participants received a digital toolkit to enable the rapid expansion of their business and bolster digital inclusion.
We posted a report in September with our key outcomes and lessons learned.
Solar Sister hosted a webinar to highlight the findings from the project.
This program and funding from Acumen and GAC provided invaluable learnings and insights about the flexibility and adaptation of the Solar Sister model, demonstrating the effectiveness of economic opportunity through entrepreneurship and the value of localized clean energy distribution in various contexts. While there is still much to learn about the long-term sustainability of these women entrepreneurs and their businesses, based on the outcomes of the initial 8-month pilot period, we consider this adaptation of the Solar Sister model to be a success. Key outcomes and lessons learned can be found in the full report.