What's on your mind?

Got a question? We might be able to answer it:

• 1.    Where do we sell solar lights?
• 2.    What’s the customer savings pay-back time like on solar lights in Africa?
• 3.    How much CO2 do these solar lights save?
• 4.    Do you offer micro finance to customers in Africa?
• 5.    Can you tell me more about SunnyMoney?
• 6.    I represent a business. How can we help?
• 7.    I work for an NGO and would like to partner with you. Tell me how?
• 8.    How do I volunteer in your London office. When can I start?
• 9.    We really want to fundraise for you.... tell us how!
• 10.    Can I volunteer or gain an internship with SolarAid abroad?
• 11.    I signed up for Lighter Learning a while ago. Why has it changed?

• 1
  • Where do we sell solar lights?
  • We work in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia through our social enterprise SunnyMoney. We plan to expand to other countries and will be sharing ideas and strategy with organisations throughout Africa very soon.
• 2
  • What’s the customer savings pay-back time like on solar lights in Africa?
  • Unfortunately there’s no straight answer here. Local economies vary across Africa, as do the products we sell. As a rule, we would suggest it takes three to six months for people living in sub-Saharan Africa to re-coup their initial cost incurred. Customers save because they no longer need to buy kerosene supplies, candles and batteries.
• 3
  • How much CO2 do these solar lights save?
  • Use of solar lights means families no longer need to keep kerosene lamps for lighting. It is estimated that a single kerosene lamp emits one tonne of carbon over a lifetime of five years. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2011).
• 4
  • Do you offer micro finance to customers in Africa?
  • Most micro finance works with entrepreneurs and not consumers (many of whom do not have bank accounts). We are continually working with local finance partners to innovate so that individual credit in Africa is accessible. Currently however, we do not have any active micro finance programmes.
• 5
  • Can you tell me more about SunnyMoney?
  • SunnyMoney is the trading name we use in Africa to sell solar lights (it brings a smile to people’s faces when you say it!). Visit www.sunnymoney.org to learn more.
    
• 6
  • I represent a business. How can we help?
  • SolarAid believes in business based solutions to poverty, so we'd love to hear from you. Visit our fundraising page for giving options or drop us an email on info@solar-aid.org if you have your own ideas!
• 7
  • I work for an NGO and would like to partner with you. Tell me how?
  • Brilliant, we'd love to hear from you. Simply email info@solar-aid.orgwith your area of interest and contact details, so we can put the right person to contact you.
• 8
  • How do I volunteer in your London office. When can I start?
  • When there are opportunities for internships we post them on our job page. Also don’t forget you can help us spread the word about SolarAid amongst your network of friends and contacts. Check out Join In to see how people are helping us.
• 9
  • We really want to fundraise for you.... tell us how!
  • Brilliant, you can help light a classroom in Africa, share the cost of a light with a family or something quite different, which you decide. Just let us know what you fancy by emailing: info@solar-aid.org or call 0207 278 0400 and ask for Beth.
• 10
  • Can I volunteer or gain an internship with SolarAid abroad?
  • Unfortunately we do not have a Graduate or internship programme. However, watch this space for our new SunnyMoney Brains venture.
• 11
  • I signed up for Lighter Learning a while ago. Why has it changed?

  • When we began Lighter Learning we asked schools, churches and companies to raise £1000 to help schools in Africa install solar systems in their classrooms. We’ve since refined our model and learnt that we can get more lights to pupils faster and at a lower cost by concentrating on small hand-held solar lights that can be used both in school and at home. We’re constantly re-evaluating the way we work in consultation with solar customers and this is what we’ve learnt. However, if you have already, or are currently fundraising £1000 to light a classroom you can rest assured that your money will be spent as promised and that the communities will hugely benefit from the installation. The key point underlying both models is that solar powered light enables pupils to study for longer, safely.  We thank you for your support in helping us to make this a reality for students in East Africa.