Empower 100 women to sell solar lights in Myanmar

Thank You!

Thank you for donating to Empower Generation’s project: Empower 100 Women to Sell Solar Lights in Myanmar! More than two-thirds of rural people there do not have access to affordable, dependable electricity. Your donation is addressing this problem by training women to sell clean energy products to their rural communities.

Project Accomplishments

Since launching in March, Empower Generation’s Myanmar pilot program in the Thanlyin area, south of Yangon, has seen continued success in providing solar products and garnering interest in our mission. To date, we have trained ten women, who have sold 56 products. We were able to buy our newest inventory of products for the women to sell, using the profits from previous sales, reflecting the community’s interest in purchasing solar lights and home systems. We are working towards establishing partnerships with organizations in Myanmar who are involved in addressing alternative energy or gender equality problems. We have found that our approach combining these two issues is relatively unique there, and many have expressed interest in collaboration. Potential partners include local nongovernment organizations, international nongovernment organizations, and micro-finance institutions. 

 Next Steps

As we begin to plan our follow-up trip for Fall 2017, we are assessing which region to choose for the second phase of the pilot program. The decision will be based on location, current energy access, and the number of active civil society organizations and women's groups who may be interested in participating in our program. During the next trip, we will train a new group of sales agents and local business managers to facilitate sales and inventory. We will also be interviewing local candidates to fill a Myanmar-based program manager position to oversee operations on the ground and begin growing a locally based team.

Call to Action

While we have accomplished a lot, we need your continued support! Please share our project with your network and encourage them to donate. Without donations, we will not be able to reach our goal of training 100 women to sell solar lights. Thank you!