“Okay, so who here knows the company Avon?”
Neha Misra, Co-founder and Chief Collaboration Officer at Solar Sister, was trying to explain the structure of Solar Sister, the NGO she helped create—an NGO that counts Exxon Mobil Women’s Economic Opportunity Initiative, UN Women, and USAID among its partners.
In response to her question, about half of the conference attendees confidently raised their hands and promptly began to chuckle at the attendees with both hands at their sides, bemusedly looking around. Surprise, surprise: Most of the attendees with a hand raised were women; those who didn’t recognize Avon were mostly men.
This all took place at a Millennium Challenge Corporation panel discussion on development initiatives that promote both gender equality and energy access. …So what does Avon have to do with energy access or gender-inclusive development initiatives?
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Africa’s Solar Sister Empowers Women With Clean Energy
by Ramya Chandrasekaran • • 0 Comments
An African social business has been leveraging on the direct sales model to help empower women with economic opportunity while promoting the breakthrough potential of clean energy technology.
Solar Sister is a social business that uses the direct selling model to distribute solar equipment in Africa. It’s been operating for more than five years and now works with about 1,500 women entrepreneurs in three countries. The women buy solar lamps, solar phone chargers, and solar panels at cost, then mark up the items at retail, pocketing the difference. Solar Sister provides training and support, helping the saleswomen reach their goals.
CEO Katherine Lucey explains the challenges the company has faced in that time and how Solar Sister hopes to continue to grow.
Lucey founded the business on the premise that women are the family members most likely