Our Programmes

Light a Village creates total community transformation. Through our Energy as a Service model, every home in a village receives a solar home system for free and pay for their energy usage on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Like all electronics, also a solar light will one day fail. Through upskilling Repair Technicians we give second life to our solar lights and decrease electronic waste in rural areas.

Doing homework after the sun has set is impossible for many children across sub-Saharan Africa. And, for the poorest families, even the most affordable solar lights available remain out of reach. A Light Library is like a book library, but for solar lights.

Without access to electricity, health facilities are unable to provide access to modern healthcare. SolarAid has committed to ensuring that no clinic in Africa is left in the dark, without access to light and power.

We believe the best way to make long-lasting change is through creating a local market. We do this by training and supporting entrepreneurs to sell solar lights. This creates sustainable income and business opportunities for the entrepreneur as well as, customers rather than beneficiaries.

Through our programme – The ‘Shining Mothers,’ or ‘Mayi Walas’ in Chichewa, Malawi’s national language, we recruit, train and support women entrepreneurs to run solar light businesses across rural Malawi.

Through working with local schools and Head teachers we build trust and demand for solar lights. This model has reached over 11 million people with solar light.

One of the biggest challenges to widespread rural access of solar lights is affordability.

While the cost of manufacturing solar lights has reduced dramatically in recent years, even the most affordable solar light is too expensive for many families where we work.

One of the innovations to overcome this problem is to move from one-off cash payments to Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG).

We have created the first ever energy cooperative in Malawi – FEBCO. The innovation has been designed by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs.