Stories are what make the world and inspire the imagination. We have collected, and continue to add, stories about energy access and rural development around the world, as well as the latest updates and thoughts from our own projects and activities.
Interview with Grace Mahary Founder, Project Tsehigh Location: New York City / Eritrea “I am black, grew up an athlete and saw a disparity in energy in parts of the world.” Canadian model and activist Grace Mahary has worked on making fashion more inclusive. She has spoken out on Black Lives Matter, on diversity in …
From fashion to action: Project Tsehigh’s Grace Mahary Read More »
Interview with Amit Saraogi, Co-founder and CEO, Oorja Location: Delhi, India “We will be able to strengthen local economic development, increasing demand for our solution and bringing jobs into the local economy” Amit Saraogi spent part of his childhood in Uttar Pradesh, playing amidst the rice fields where his family harvested rice paddy to be processed in their …
Oorja: Turning farm waste into energy in Uttar Pradesh Read More »
Location: Kabul, Afghanistan “We worked in areas which were 100% Taliban” *** Emal Barekhzai came to Jalalabad in 2002. He was living in Kassel, Germany, and he found a two-month role working as an IT technician at a girl’s school there. Only 3% of girls were going to school in the country – a worthy cause. …
Mid-90s, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. As a German electrical engineer who has recently moved to one of the poorest countries in the world, Andy Schroeter sees the potential that can be had for energy access in remote areas. At the time, Laos has an electrification rate of 30%. “Aside from cities in the Mekong Valley,” …
Sunlabob: Pioneering rural electrification in southeast Asia Read More »
Svati Bhogle, social entrepreneur and founder, Sustaintech Location: Bangalore, India “Grow, but don’t spread yourselves too thin.” How long do you blend tea leaves with milk? Should you brew the tea for a shorter few minutes after that, or turn the gas off? When Svati Bhogle, a chemical engineer by training, went from one of …
Svati Bhogle, social entrepreneur and founder, Sustaintech Read More »
Interview with Daniel Becker Managing Director, E.ON Off Grid Solutions and Founder, Rafiki Power Location: Tanzania Daniel Becker is the Managing Director of E.ON Off Grid Solutions and founder of its Tanzanian brand, Rafiki Power, which focuses on mini-grids for productive uses of energy. For a look at how Rafiki Power operates, watch their short …
Rafiki Power and E.ON: Mini-grids for improved livelihoods in Tanzania Read More »
Interview with Rikin Gandhi CEO, Digital Green Location: Across Asia & sub-Saharan Africa “Ultimately, lasting impact takes place by changing the story of how farmers see themselves, and helping them realise that they can aspire for a better life for themselves and their families, too.” Rikin Gandhi is the CEO of Digital Green, a not-for-profit …
Digital Green: How videos are transforming farming in India and across Africa Read More »
Interview with Farzana Rahman Senior Vice-President (Investment), Renewable Energy, IDCOL Location: Bangladesh “The amount of solar home systems we have installed – 4 million – speaks for itself” Around 12% of Bangladeshis, or 18 million people, currently use solar home systems. Solar panels sit on top of rural homes with corrugated tin roofs, connected to …
Interview with Huw Jones Executive Director & Founder at The Virtual Doctors Location: Zambia “If you’re got education and health, that’s a foundation.” Huw Jones traces the earliest origins of The Virtual Doctors to a trail of blood he saw while travelling through rural Zambia to buy pumpkins for soup. It was the mid-1990s and he was …
Can telemedicine revolutionise rural healthcare in Africa? Read More »
Interview with Rik Stamhuis Co-Founder and Managing Director, Jiro-Ve Location: Antananarivo, Madagascar “It is the business model, and not the product, which needs innovation in solar” How do you change people’s behaviour forever? Rik Stamhuis says you need to ensure that there is a solution which won’t force people to have to go back to their …
Micro-entrepreneurs and business model innovation in Madagascar Read More »
Marc Zedler, Project Manager, Connected Solar Market Centers (CSMC), Solarkiosk Location: Berlin, Germany and across Africa “Focus on a core group of entrepreneurs who engage with the community” For Marc Zedler, there is a bigger picture at Solarkiosk, a German solar company operating in multiple African countries. Having a service which provides rural communities with …
Interview with Ron Bills CEO, Envirofit Location: Across the developing world “People want to be treated as customers, with dreams, desires, and aspirations, not as aid recipients” Ron Bills is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board for Envirofit, a global social enterprise that has revolutionized the way we think about energy access …
A breath of fresh air: How Envirofit is doing social good with a for-profit model Read More »
Video by Steve Martin Saning’o
Women are central to successful business models for off-grid energy in developing countries – whether they are founding micro enterprises, building small, medium, and large businesses, or are the consumers choosing the best energy sources for their household. In this webinar, you’ll hear from women working on the frontlines of energy entrepreneurship. They will reflect …
On 10 October 2016, Smart Villages was invited to speak to the European Parliament’s Development Committee on the topic of energy and development. Chair of the Development Committee, Linda McAvan of the UK, introduced Smart Villages to the Members of the Committee. Molly Hurley-Dépret presented to the DEVE Committee and called for an ambitious approach …
Smart Villages presents in European Parliament Development Committee, 10/10/2016 Read More »
In August, we held a successful webinar focusing on women and entrepreneurship in off-grid communities, with views from Solar Sister, Ajima Farms Ltd, Power4All, and Kopernik. (https://e4sv.org/events/women-energy-e…) In our current webinar, we will hear from off-grid companies, including Frontier Markets, PEG Ghana, among others, on how they have scaled up inclusiveness and integrated gender into …
When disaster strikes, a community’s ability to respond and recover is tested, whether it is affected by a flood, an earthquake, a drought, a tsunami, or a hurricane, and whether it is located in a rural, urban, or peri-urban area. In this webinar, we’ll bring together experts who have worked in Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, and …
November webinar: Going off the grid: Disaster, resilience, and off-grid energy Read More »
In this video, you’ll learn about the new business opportunities that solar power has created in one off-grid village in northern Tanzania. Rafiki Power’s solar kiosk allows an entrepreneur to build his business while selling mobile money, charging phones, and providing other useful services to the wider community.
70% of the world’s poor live in rural areas. Many of them rely on agriculture for their incomes. Equally, many of them lack access to energy. But what if they can access energy – and apply it to their livelihood? Within this webinar, we will hear from several speakers who are focusing on exactly this …
December webinar: Growing smart villages: Energy & agriculture for development Read More »
In this video, you’ll hear from Akua Adu of PEG. PEG is active primarily in Ghana and offers solar energy products, including solar home systems, to people in rural and urban areas. Adu notes that mobile money to pay for energy is not yet popular in Ghana, unlike in East Africa – but PEG is …