Lagos, Nigeria – June 2018
Social Enterprise Organization, Solar Sister Nigeria said that it is set to eradicate energy poverty by empowering women with economic opportunity. The Non-Government Organization (NGO) adopts the breakthrough potential of clean energy technology with a deliberately woman-centered direct sales network to bring light, hope and opportunity to even the most remote communities in rural Africa.
The NGO has called for increased role by women in clean energy access, especially in underserved communities across the country. Investing in women is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do David O’Connor Chief Operating Officer, said at a media advocacy event organized in Abuja to brief the public on project milestones of the NGO.
Highlighting the impact of the initiative, Keziah Simon one of the salesperson of the solar lamps and clean cooking stoves in her community in Bwari Area Council of the FCT. Keziah, a mother of six, could not hide her joy as she spoke on the gains and benefits of the business to her and her community. “Personally, I have made almost a N100, 000 profit from this business since I started last year. From this, we have been able to send one of our sons to a boarding school and we have been feeding from the profit from this business, too.
“In my community, some of the women are opting for the clean cooking stoves instead of using firewood because the stoves do not emit smoke. This is better for our health. We are thankful to Solar Sister for coming up with this initiative,” she said.
Also, speaking at the media advocacy/workshop in Abuja, the Country Manager, Solar Sister Nigeria, Olasimbo Sojinrin, stated that Nigeria in particular and Africa as a whole, were faced with energy poverty with 600 million people in Africa living without electricity, 728 million depending on fuels such as charcoal and firewood for cooking while over 10 million businesses are affected by lack of power.
Sojinrin said: “What we have in Nigeria is that one in three people is actually not connected to the national grid and so they are in perpetual darkness, half of the population lives in rural areas in which one in four people have access to electricity, the huge majority of 70 per cent of people affected by energy poverty are women and girls.
“Families spend 30-40 per cent income on household energy (USA average is 5%), over 2/3 of Nigerians are dependent on bio-mass for cooking and indoor air pollution is the 3rd highest killer in Nigeria. So, what solar system does is to give them access to modern, clean energy which they can use to light their homes as well as cook”.
Solar Sister partners with indigenous manufacturers, global Agencies like the World Bank in achieving its objective of making available durable and affordable lights, cook stoves, lamps and so on to rural communities. So, the beneficiaries of this organisations have been able to impact the lives of the communities in which they stay, thereby people don’t have to be in darkness.
“If you go to these communities you find out that activities stop around 7.00pm but with the introduction of solar lamps, you find out that businesses are opened till longer, we have lot of economic activities which has been impacted just by simple solar lamp which the life changing effect of light in their communities,” she said
Solar Sister currently operates in 23 of the Nigeria’s 36 states and impacted on sisterhood support, community safety, business growth, economic stability and health.
“We foresee a world where women and girls are drivers of a sustainable energy movement in a rapidly growing clean energy sector to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable solutions to climate change that results in a prosperous society, Sojinrin said.
To find out more about Solar Sister Nigeria click the link below