Solar Sisters-Empowering Women Light - Hope - Opportunity

Outline Introduction Problem Identification Target Market Target population Micro-consignment model Social impact Technology lifecycle Supply and Distribution Training and Support Research Questions Solar Sister in a Nutshell

Introduction Solar Sister supports women and girls in rural Africa by providing access to clean, dependable renewable energy, enabling them to lift themselves, their families and their communities out of poverty. Solar Sister eradicates energy poverty by empowering women with economic opportunity. We combine the breakthrough potential of solar technology with a deliberately woman-centered direct sales network to bring light, hope and opportunity to even the most remote communities in rural Africa. This is what Solar Sister is all about - mentoring rural women entrepreneurs to become better business women. Building up the skills of bookkeeping, sales and leadership. Sister to sister.

Problem Identification: Energy poverty is a gender issue

Global Energy Map

Target Market Energy poverty is a critical component of global poverty. In sub-Saharan households, 70% of homes have no access to network electricity. The indoor air pollution caused by the smoke emitted from burning wood and kerosene for light and cooking is responsible for 1.6 million deaths per year. women spend 25% of their time fetching wood for cooking and heat. Time which could otherwise be spent on more productive tasks. Solar Sister targets the 590 million people who live without access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Daily purchase of off-grid energy which is a $1 trillion annual market.

The Changing Dynamics of Global Energy

Target population: Women

Target population: Children

Micro-consignment model

Social impact

Technology lifecycle

In Uganda, Solar Sister has 9 Regional Coordinators whose job is to identify potential women entrepreneurs in villages, who would be selling up to 10 lamps in their community every month, which cost USD. Solar sisters buy the products from 3 of the main solar energy suppliers in Africa: Greenlight Planet, D. Light and Barefoot. The final customer usually pays the lanterns upfront but can also make an arrangement with the “Solar Sister” for the payment, as they all know each other. The entrepreneur has to pay the Regional Coordinator at the end of the month. Concerning its financial sustainability, the management of the company believes it will break even when 5,000 Solar Sisters will sell about 10 lanterns each every month. Supply and Distribution

Training

Outdoor Training

Support after sales

Secret of Success: Happy Customer

Research Questions Why women? Lucey: If women are not intentionally included in technology, then they are unintentionally excluded. We decided that an Avon woman-to-woman model would be not only empowering, but practical for seamlessly incorporating this technology into homes. How can villagers afford the lanterns? Lucey: There are two different methods we can use so villagers can afford the lanterns: a. There already exist community savings programs in which women pool money. All the women will contribute a small amount every week. The first week, only one woman will buy a lantern with the pooled money. The next week, another woman will buy one. The first buyers are in a way buying on credit, while the last buyers have paid installments over the course of a few weeks. By the end, everyone owns a lantern. b. We are looking at a rent-to-own plan in which a consumer would pay 5,000 shillings ($2.20) per week to rent a lantern. After 8 weeks, it would be hers. In this way, we would align ourselves with their consumption habits, though it would take a great deal of trust between the Solar Sister (village entrepreneur) and the end consumer. Why did you choose a micro-consignment model? Lucey: In a micro-consignment scheme, as opposed to micro-franchise scheme, the entrepreneur (or group) pays for the inventory after she sells it, as opposed to before. Instead of putting our entrepreneurs at more risk by forcing them to take out micro-loans to finance their inventory costs, this scheme provides our entrepreneurs with some breathing room to get their business on its feet. However, this would not work without our vital partnership with the Mother's Union, who has identified trustworthy entrepreneurs and self-help groups.

Research Questions What are some challenges you've faced? Lucey: Creating systems and processes that will allow us to scale while still maintaining our sensitivity to working with the women in the way that they want. For example, some villages have very community-based cultures that do not want to single out a woman to be the Solar Sister. In those cases, we have to rely on selling lanterns to groups of women who receive the commission as a discount on their own lanterns. What's your vision for the future? Lucey: I see a tremendous potential for this enterprise to scale, and our goal is to be 100% self-funding, with any profits going back into Solar Sister in the form of community-benefiting solar installations or business trainings for the top-selling entrepreneurs. Also, eventually we could implement an SMS-based platform for data sharing, where an entrepreneur can text her inventory and get paid through text message, as mobile banking fees decrease in Africa. This would be ideal, since the women don't do a lot of record- keeping but are very comfortable sending text messages. Who are the suppliers for solar products?? Lucey: Our products are supplied by a variety of manufacturers: d.Light Design, Barefoot Power, Bboxx, Greenlight Planet and others. How you give services after sales? Lucey: All products have a manufacturers warranty. How you supply products?? Lucey: We use a direct sales method to make the products available to customers right in their communities. Who gives training for using solar products? Lucey: We provide the training to the Solar Sister Entrepreneurs who then become the local experts and educate their customers about solar.

Solar Sister in a Nutshell Headquarters:Bristol, RI, U.S Established:2009 Impact Areas:Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan Type:Nonprofit/NGO Energy Sectors:  Power Source: Solar Power  Power Use: Off-Grid Lighting and Electricity Business Model Types:  Product Sourcing: Outsource Design, Uniform Products, Foreign Manufacture  Distribution: Micro franchising, Micro consignment  Affordability: Low-Cost Products  Organization Financing: Grants and Donations, Self-Funded  Scaling: New Products, New Distributors, New Branches  Social Impact: Scope/Number Reached Staff Size: 5 staff, 177 Entrepreneurs in the Solar Sister Entrepreneur Network, and 5 – 10 volunteers Annual Budget:$274,000 Major Funders:Exxon Mobil, Social Venture Partners Rhode Island, Individual Donations Awards:2010: Clinton Global Initiative featured innovator2010: Ashoka Changemaker2010: Women in the World Summit featured participant 2010: Featured in Newsweek’s “150 Women Who Shake the World” 2011: Santa Clara Global Social Benefit Incubator, Social Venture Network Innovation Award