Last week, SolarAid became the winner of a £500,000 Google Global Impact Award.
We first covered SolarAid back in 2009. The group’s mission is make solar energy as widely available as possible to the poorest people in developing countries by providing affordable (and in some instances free) solar lighting.
Its core focus is the social enterprise, SunnyMoney. Lights are sold to local entrepreneurs; who then resell the equipment in their communities at a reasonable price. The approximate payback time of a basic light through savings on kerosene fuel is around 12 weeks. The group also offers a donate-a-light initiative; where donors can sponsor a light for a family.
SunnyMoney has sold over 338,000 lights in the last 12 months, growing over 550% year on year to become the largest seller of solar lights in Africa. In total, the organisation has distributed over a half a million solar lights. With the average household size in East Africa being five, SolarAid’s work has helped to transform the lives of over two and a half million people.
SolarAid says it will use the half a million pound prize to distribute 144,000 solar lights in rural Tanzania and recruit 400 school leavers to create a new generation of solar entrepreneurs.
“The support pledged by Google to the four Award winners will help SolarAid raise its profile, gain more supporters and ensure the injustice of living without clean light gets onto the world radar,” says SolarAid.
With 85% of Africans not having access to electricity, the entrepreneurial approach has massive potential – not just in lighting up lives, but improving health and creating employment. SolarAid has set a lofty goal of eradicating the kerosene lamp from Africa by 2020.
Google’s Global Impact Awards support nonprofits using technology and innovation to tackle tough human challenges.
