In Luwinga, northern Malawi, Lusungu Nkhowani saw that local traders needed light after sunset. Many could not buy a lamp outright without using money needed for the next day’s stock. So she began renting solar lights by the night.
[Image: Lusungu preparing the lights or handing one to a customer.]
Each evening, Lusungu records who has taken a light and collects a small rental fee. The lights travel to market stalls and roadside businesses, where traders can keep serving customers after dark.
[Images: A light at a produce stall, followed by the butcher or another trader at work.]
In the morning, customers return the lights. Lusungu checks and recharges them, ready for another evening. The same lights can support different people, night after night.
[Image: Lights being returned or set out to charge.]
The business has helped Lusungu support her family, while traders gain more time to work without paying the full price of a lamp. Demand is growing, but Lusungu says she needs more lights to serve everyone asking for one.