Our partnership with Solar Sister

Just 7% of people in rural Tanzania have access to power, and regular power cuts mean even those with grid access are often left in the dark. Cooking smoke also causes millions of deaths per year and contributes to the single leading cause of death for women and children under five in the developing world.

Our partnership with Solar Sister in Tanzania aimed to tackle energy poverty by building and supporting a sisterhood of clean energy entrepreneurs – a network of women in Tanzania who reached the most remote areas with affordable solar lamps, mobile phone chargers, and fuel-efficient stoves. This project helped local women earn income by kickstarting clean-energy micro-enterprises. It provided ongoing training, support, marketing materials and a proven business model to entrepreneurs, building strong communities of women selling clean energy where it was needed most. While entrepreneurs gained access to a new and profitable income-generating opportunity, experiencing increased autonomy, household decision-making power, self-confidence, business, communication, and leadership skills, mobility, and community status, customers benefited from using the clean energy products. Household savings from reduced mobile charging and kerosene costs increased the amount of money families have to spend on other things like children’s health and education. Through One Day’s Wages’ support of Solar Sister’s program in Tanzania, 70 new clean energy entrepreneurs were recruited and trained, who sold 8,061 clean energy products, reaching an estimated 40,305 total beneficiaries.