Growing Village Solar and supporting women in Malawi
85% of the population in Malawi lacks access to electricity. And Village Solar is on a mission to change that.
The vast majority of the rural population (around 17 million people) are left in the dark, which limits their economic and educational opportunities. These households have to depend on expensive and toxic fuels such as batteries, thatching grass, candles and kerosene, which can cause respiratory illnesses, create fire hazards and produce a very weak light so children are unable to study at night.
Kerosene also emits black carbon, which is 800 times more harmful to the environment than CO2.
And Malawi is also facing a huge unemployment problem, especially for women.
Village Solar is a for-profit social enterprise created by CEO Sungeni Segula and Programs Director Susanna Simango. Their purpose is to facilitate the transformation of rural communities, moving away from traditional energy sources and embracing sustainable, clean technologies like solar power.
Through their initiatives Village Solar helps customers save on average 5% of their annual income and creates a healthier living environment. And they employ women as micro-entrepreneurs to distribute their products.
Sungeni signed up to our pro bono marketing matching platform and connected with Matt Tutt, digital marketing expert, experienced volunteer and MarketingKind member.
Matt has supported countless causes through our pro bono platform over the last 10 years and we are always impressed by his dedication to creating a complete solution.
Sungeni said, “Matt Tutt has truly had a significant impact on Village Solar! His assistance in building our website from the ground up has been incredibly beneficial. Thanks to his work, we can now share our mission and its importance with a global audience. His support is crucial to our mission of providing solar energy to remote parts of Malawi. His commitment to our cause is a major reason for our progress! Additionally, he has been available for maintenance and guidance.”
Matt said: “Sungeni was looking for some technical assistance with Village Solar, the social enterprise he had created in Malawi. He didn't have a website, and wasn't sure where to host it or what technology to build the site with. I could tell he was very hands-on and wasn't afraid to get stuck in - even offering to learn some coding in order to get the site up and running!
I persuaded him that Wordpress would be the best option going forward, as it was very powerful and customisable and would suit their needs very well. In the end I also provided web hosting to ensure they can remain live without having to pay those additional costs. I've been able to advise on setting up Wordpress, optimising for search engines, and assisting with other requests as needed. I can tell without doubt that Sungeni and his team have been very grateful for the help I've provided. I look forward to continuing with the support, and to see Village Solar grow online (and offline too!) where they have a really important mission to fulfill.”