Solar Sister empowers women with economic opportunity and access to technology. Using an Avon-style business model for clean energy products, we combine the breakthrough potential of affordable solar energy with a deliberately woman-centered direct sales network to bring light, hope and opportunity to communities in rural Africa.

1.6 billion people on the planet don’t have access to electricity. 70% are women and girls living in developing countries. They rely on kerosene lanterns and candles for light. They spend up to 40% of their family income on energy that is inefficient, insufficient and hazardous.

Solar Sister is bringing a new kind of clean energy revolution – one that is leveraged by women's social networks and the power of the marketplace.

Solar Sister empowers women with economic opportunity and access to technology. Using an Avon-style business model for clean energy products, we combine the breakthrough potential of affordable solar energy with a deliberately woman-centered direct sales network to bring light, hope and opportunity to communities in rural Africa. 1.6 billion people on the planet don’t have access to electricity. 70% are women and girls living in developing countries. They rely on kerosene lanterns and candles for light. They spend up to 40% of their family income on energy that is inefficient, insufficient and hazardous. Solar Sister is bringing a new kind of clean energy revolution – one that is leveraged by women's social networks and the power of the marketplace.

We are innovating the delivery system for clean energy technology to ensure adaptation where it matters most, energy poor households. Solar Sister is the only organization in the world exclusively committed to building a network of women solar entrepreneurs through a market based scalable program. It is the “Sister” in Solar Sister that makes the difference. It seems a simple thing, but deliberately reaching out to women to include them as active participants in the distribution of technology has profound impact. Not only does it create income for women who have few other cash earning opportunities, it is the most effective distribution method to reach rural homes. Women are the primary consumers of household energy, bearing responsibility for gathering wood or purchasing kerosene in energy poor communities, but they are rarely included in the technology conversation. In the past few years, great advances have been made in the technology and design of micro-solar products so they are both available and affordable alternatives to expensive, toxic, unsafe kerosene lanterns. But the lack of a distribution system that can reach into the rural villages where the technology is most needed, and the impact of a pervasive technology gender-gap means that this potentially life-changing technology is not being adapted at the household level, leaving families in the dark. By providing women with the opportunity to be active participants in the distribution of the new solar technology, we activate a powerful network of women’s relationships to maximize impact.

The most important step to ending poverty is to create employment and income opportunities. Solar Sister does just that by providing opportunity for women to become solar entrepreneurs. We deliberately focus on women because not only are they overlooked in terms of economic opportunity, but they are also the primary drivers of technology adaptation in the household - by intentionally reaching out to women, we create economic opportunity and create employment as well as direct our marketing and outreach to the primary consumers of household energy. We believe that investing in women is not only the right thing to do – it is the smart thing to do. Solar Sister provides the women with a ‘business in a bag’, a start-up kit of inventory , training and marketing support ( like Solar Sister branded ID, flyers, stickers, posters, t-shirts, business bag, ledgers for Solar Sister entrepreneurs to keep sales record,support for community launch events to showcase the products at high visibility locations). The women become their own bosses, creating sustainable businesses. The women use their natural networks of family, friends and neighbors to provide the most effective distribution channel to rural and hard-to-reach customers. Leveraging the power of the market place, a Solar Sister Entrepreneur creates a chain reaction of social impact as she turns over her inventory again and again. The key to Solar Sister model lies in the self-sustaining economics of its distribution program. Using the power of the market to leverage impact, each and every dollar invested in a Solar Sister Entrepreneur generates over $46 in economic benefits in the first year alone, through earned income for the Solar Sister Entrepreneur and the immediate cash savings of her customers as they avoid the cost of expensive kerosene. Solar lamps replace the toxic kerosene lanterns and solar cell phone chargers provide connectivity in even the most energy poor communities. Solar Sister provides women with business training and technical skills they need to make their micro-business thrive. As they grow in their skills and confidence, they become change agents in their communities, sharing their skills and knowledge and becoming ‘evangelists’ for the new technology. The key to our success is combining the women's social capital with financial capital to create a distribution network for renewable technology solutions. Building impact driven innovative Public-Private-People partnerships is at the heart of Solar Sister's approach. On the demand side, we maximize our impact and deliver the greatest opportunity to the entrepreneurs and their customers. On the supply side, we have both hybrid and diversified value chain whereby we work with a basket of most innovative, high quality suppliers that provide most bang for Solar Sister buck. We see Solar Sister as a combination of a Avon Model ( benefiting from the powerful connections of women's social networks and highly personalized sales), Best Buy ( providing choice to customer through best products and brands from a trusted source who provides the best price ) and and an eBay (using ICT to revolutionize our supply chain and achieve operational excellence). These market linkages are integral to Solar Sister philosophy. We bring important value to the manufacturers as our role at the very end of the supply chain extends and broadens their reach and provides immediate feedback on the market uptake of products. In doing so, we are building the market for clean energy solutions for the poor end-to-end : right from inventors and manufacturers to users. Solar Sister's range of products presently includes: solar lights, solar lights with phone chargers, solar phone chargers, solar radios, solar flash lights ( torches), solar home systems with multiple lights and the ability to charge larger 12 volt batteries that can power radios/small appliances...the list continue to grow as we develop new relationships with new suppliers and our current suppliers add new products. This is a fast developing space in 'base of the pyramid' design. We will be adding clean cookstoves (solar as well as efficient wood/charcoal) in the future as this is also an important household utility that benefits from clean energy technology and are talking with various suppliers to determine our best match for quality, durability, customer demand and affordability.

Solar Sister works with women in rural communities in East Africa: Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. Energy poverty is pervasive, with only 5% of households having access to electricity. Most families are subsistence farmers, with income of less than $2 per day. Most of the women are first time entrepreneurs, eager for the opportunity to earn income to help support their families but needing support and training to thrive. Many are single mothers and this is the only source of income to provide for their children. Some are teachers or healthcare workers, supplementing incomes that are insufficient and sometimes irregular. Our primary beneficiaries are our entrepreneurs, so we are seamlessly embedded in our communities and are able to reach out broadly to bring access to renewable energy technology to their entire communities.