News and views

Tanzania and the price of success

  The off-grid energy market certainly looks a lot different today than it did just a few short years ago. When SunnyMoney first started selling lights in early 2009 there were around 40,000 on the market. The last Lighting Global figures taken from Dec 2014 suggest that figure stood at around 7.2 million, and that’s […]

Impact Week & the Sustainable Development Goals

It’s impact week! It’s that time of the year when we share with you all the amazing things you’ve helped achieve over the last 12 months. We’ve put together our latest impact report to keep you abreast of the latest developments and to give you something to share with your friends, so they can see […]

Until the sun comes up

  We’ve always been the coolest solar charity with an orange and black logo based in South East London, but now, SolarAid just got even cooler! You didn’t think it was possible did you? Be honest, you didn’t did you. Ok, so even if you did, you’ll be surprised by how cool this is. Canadian […]

Solar lights and the fight against Ebola

You may have read about some of the incredible things SolarAid ambassador Keith Neal has got up to in our previous blogs. Well, today we have another amazing story regarding one of his solar inspired projects in Sierra Leone. Bo District, the second largest District in Sierra Leone, was hit by Ebola in June 2014. Up […]

SolarAid restructures to reach new frontiers

A message from the SolarAid & SunnyMoney board. In just three years, SolarAid’s retail arm SunnyMoney has catalysed the first two African national mass-markets in solar lighting, soaring to best-of-continent sales status from growth mostly in Kenya and Tanzania. But just as the charity and its social venture gear up to raise further funding for expansion across […]

New SunnyMoney CEO looks forward to challenges ahead

We’re hugely excited to announce the appointment of Caesar Mwangi as the new CEO of our social enterprise, SunnyMoney. Caesar takes over at a highly critical time for SolarAid and SunnyMoney as the solar market in Africa continues to grow and evolve. SunnyMoney was set up in 2008 to sell solar lights to those living ‘beyond the […]

A new term for Sunny Schools

  Education is back in session as we start working with new partners to extend our outreach to schools around the UK. Our Fundraising and Schools Project Coordinator has been working hard to inspire students, teachers and communities with SolarAid’s fantastic Sunny Schools resources. Developed to be used alongside the current school curriculum in both […]

Kerosene subsidies – a hidden cost

Yesterday, the Guardian reported the staggering cost of fossil fuel subsidies following a report from the IMF: an estimated $5.3 trillion or 6.5% of global GDP. This eye-watering amount is almost too huge to comprehend but the human cost of subsidies is something we hear about each day. The cost of ‘negative externalities’ Much of the subsidy […]

Sustainable Energy 4 All

On Monday 18 May 2015, SolarAid Head of Policy, Charlie Miller, is working with the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association and the Power for All initiative to deliver two sessions at the Sustainable Energy for All forum in New York. The sessions will highlight: Why off-grid solar is critical for achieving Sustainable Energy for All How off-grid solar can be […]