Social initiative

Female entrepreneurship for the climate

Every woman who is trained to sell solar lamps in Tanzania is helping 250 people gain access to clean energy and reducing carbon emissions by the equivalent of more than 160 flights Stockholm – London. Every year. She also receives an income, enabling her children to go to school and giving her a higher status in the village.

The successful scheme, named Solar Sisters, has been in place since 2010. But the needs are great. Nearly a billion people live without access to electricity today, while the Corona pandemic has led to increased poverty worldwide. To raise more funding to recruit and train more women, Swedish companies have joined forces under the Social Initiative Women & Climate. One of the first companies to join the initiative was Latour.

We are very proud to be part of the Social Initiative Women & Climate. Addressing climate change as well as empowering the role of women in the world through female entrepreneurship was just right for us, says Katarina Rautenberg, Responsible for cooperation at Latour.

The initiative is run by the organisation Social Initiative who has been working closely with Swedish companies and social entrepreneurs across the globe for twenty years. Solar Sisters was started by Katherine Lucey after a meeting with a local woman in rural Uganda. She realised that many people lit their homes with expensive and toxic kerosene lamps that can cause fires and disease, and that food was cooked over an open fire. Solutions were needed that were both sustainable and affordable, and that could easily be passed around to families in need.

Solar Sisters has really made a difference. The products sold create a ripple effect on the health of families, their finances, education and, by extension, communities at large. It also enhances the status of women. Today, there are over 7,000 Solar Sisters entrepreneurs in Southern Africa who have brought clean energy to three million people. But that's just the beginning. We are delighted to be able to contribute to this positive change, Katarina concludes.

Watch the film about the Solar Sisters' visit to Tanzania in 2023