Powering Communities, Empowering Women – Finorah Manyala

From my field experience, the most significant consequences of energy poverty are felt most acutely by women and children.

Women may spend up to 10 hours a week collecting fuel, which takes time away from income-generating activities and other productive responsibilities. In many cases, girls are also withdrawn from school to help collect firewood, limiting their education and future opportunities. In addition, the long distances women must walk to gather fuel expose them to the risk of physical violence and abuse.

Finally, cooking with biomass and other traditional fuels produces toxic smoke that seriously harms the health of women and children, contributing to respiratory illness and other long-term health problems.

Solar Sister is all about helping women become clean energy entrepreneurs and change-makers in their communities. We recruit ambitious women and give them the training, tools, and support they need to earn an income by distributing clean energy products to underserved areas in Africa. What makes the model especially powerful is that the support doesn’t stop after training, it continues as the women grow their businesses.

At the start, entrepreneurs receive a “Business in a Bag,” which gives them the basics they need to run and market a business. They then go through 12 months of core training, covering both business skills and technical knowledge about the products. They also take part in local sisterhood groups and mentoring sessions, where they can learn from one another and share experiences.

As they gain confidence and build their businesses, they can move on to advanced training, including digital literacy, financial literacy, and sales and marketing skills. There’s also access to a revolving zero-interest loan facility, which helps them buy more products and grow faster. On top of that, they receive marketing materials and IDs to help their businesses look more professional.

The real impact is that women gain income, confidence, and leadership skills and many become role models and agents of change in their families and communities.

In the busy streets of the Obunga Estate in Kisumu Kenya, we meet a very stable and focused Solar Sister Entrepreneur by the name Alice Akinyi Odongo. The 43 year old mother of three is more than delighted to share her story with the world, if anything to motivate other women to do their best in every opportunity granted to them.

Alice joined Solar Sister in 2019 as an entrepreneur after learning about the opportunity through a poster from Solar Sister Kenya. She was already a business woman selling second hand clothes as a means of livelihood but succumbed to the many challenges that come with business, such as massive losses. She took up this opportunity to engage in the clean energy business full time. Alice starts her day by taking her children to school then hits the road to hawk the clean cook stoves and solar lamps to fend for her family as she is the sole breadwinner for her three children aged 17, 13 and 9 respectively. “My children are my source of inspiration. I would like to see them pursue their studies all the way to the university for a better future, something that I did not have myself. For this reason I have to put in the hard work to make enough money for their school fees, and every other need.

I am forever grateful for Solar Sister for this opportunity. I have been trained on how to manage and run my business. The community respects me a lot more today than they did before as I do not bother my friends for loans to take care of my family. I have been known for my short tempers but this training and experience in managing people through the Solar Sister Sisterhood meetings has helped me calm down and understand that people are different and to be kind to my customers even if they do not give back the same energy. Everyday I get better at doing the clean energy business.”

Alice sells her wares in different parts of Kisumu County and moves from market to market. She says she does not look forward to formal employment as the business works just fine for her. ‘I am my own boss and work on my terms. I plan well around my business to have enough time for my family and the harder I work the more I make for my family. I also own a clean cook stove and my children’s health has improved greatly as I no longer use kerosene which was harsh on their respiratory system. I am an ambassador of the products and can demonstrate their benefits to my customers. They call me Mama Jiko Safi. To the women struggling with anything, do not give up. Keep pushing as the fruits are great.’

Empowering women as clean-energy entrepreneurs has a ripple effect that goes far beyond the individual. At Solar Sister, one of the biggest things we’ve seen is that when women are given real economic opportunity, it strengthens not just their own lives, but also their families and communities.

When women have more agency and their own source of income, they’re able to make better decisions for themselves and those around them. A lot of the time, that means investing more in their children’s education, improving healthcare for their families, and building savings that help them become more resilient.

So the impact doesn’t stop with the entrepreneur. It spreads outward creating stronger families, healthier communities, and more lasting development overall.

Access to financing remains one of the biggest barriers for both our entrepreneurs and the customers they serve. For entrepreneurs, the challenge is usually startup and growth capital. Many women have the motivation and skills, but they lack the resources to buy inventory, expand their businesses, or reach more customers. For customers, affordability is often the issue. Even when clean-energy products are available, many households can’t pay up front, so they continue using less efficient and less healthy energy options.

Through our Business Booster approach, Solar Sister helps address some of these challenges by giving entrepreneurs access to a revolving zero-interest loan facility after they complete advanced training. This allows them to purchase solar products on a 30-day loan of up to $200, which gives them the working capital they need to grow their businesses and better serve their communities.

We’re also working to deepen our impact by expanding into new communities using our internal scientific tool called Datafrym. It helps us identify priority areas including underserved population segments and places with the greatest potential demand so entrepreneurs can focus their efforts where they’ll have the most impact. At the same time, we continue to update our training curriculum to reflect changing market realities, and bring in new suppliers so we can offer product types that better match local demand and strengthen our competitiveness.

So overall, our approach is not just about increasing access to finance, it’s about giving women entrepreneurs the tools, insight, and support they need to build sustainable businesses while making clean energy more affordable and accessible for the communities they serve.

Our vision for solar sister over the next 5-10 years is to become a leading, women driven clean energy network reaching tens of millions of people in last mile communities. We aim to scale a strong ecosystem of women entrepreneurs who are earning sustainable incomes while driving clean energy and productive use of energy solutions.

At the same time, we see ourselves working closely with governments and partners to embed and scale our model within national systems. Ultimately, we aim at combining scale and sustainability to expand energy access and economic opportunity across Africa.

Start where you are and maintain consistency. I began my journey with LivelyHoods Kenya in 2011 as an intern, assisting in the initial setup and expansion of operations in Kenya. Over time, I have taken on various roles, most recently serving as the Chief Operating Officer at Solar Sister. Throughout my career, I have constantly learned, taken initiative, and embraced opportunities even when I didn’t feel fully prepared.

As a young person, it’s vital to build strong relationships, seek mentors, and stay connected to your purpose, as I believe these are key to long-term growth.