SolarAid: Light a Village

SolarAid has spent fifteen years selling and distributing solar lights through its social enterprise SunnyMoney, reaching over 12 million people across Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia and displacing the kerosene lamps and candles that rural households otherwise read and cook by. Its Light a Village pilot in Kasakula, Malawi, took a different approach — saturating one area rather than skimming across many — installing 4,000 solar home systems that reached 99% of residents and lighting all 12 schools in the district. A separate programme brought solar to 46 schools across eight regions of Madagascar, serving nearly 10,000 students. A study with Stanford University across 12 government schools in Zambia's Zimba district traced the effect through to children's academic results.