Meet the women leading the way towards universal energy access
By Jasmine Brand-Williamson, Marketing Communications Executive, Energy Saving Trust, Co-Secretariat of the Efficiency for Access Coalition
Access to affordable and clean energy (SDG7) and gender equality (SDG 5) are two of the Sustainable Development Goals that go hand in hand. There has been good progress towards SDG7,with the number of unelectrified people reduced from 860 million to 770 million in 2019. Despite this progress, women are less likely to benefit from improved energy access. According to Efficiency for Access and ENERGIA, as households gain electricity access, men are more likely to choose which appliances to purchase and use them more.
Empowering women to work in the off-grid appliance sectors can help improve gender equality in energy access. According to ENERGIA, female innovators are more likely to access hard-to-reach and female-led households. Specifically targeting these households will improve both energy access and gender equality. To mark International Women’s Day, we spoke to two women who are working towards these goals.
Sona Shah, CEO and Co-Founder, Neopenda
Neopenda’s mission is to bring innovative health-tech products to underserved populations in an impactful and sustainable way. The company is currently piloting an affordable, wireless vital signs monitor for new-born babies in East Africa. The project won funding as part of the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund’s Enabling Technologies call in 2020. The Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund is funded by UK aid and the IKEA Foundation.
What challenges have you faced as a woman working in energy access?
As a female engineer and entrepreneur, I have often been the only female in the room. Tess, also an engineer and co-founder of Neopenda, and I have often been met with surprise when we tell people that we are the engineers on the team.
There have been challenges and opportunities associated with being a female CEO. I have received condescending, and sometimes wildly inappropriate advice related to fundraising, particularly from investors. Fortunately, this is not a regular occurrence. I am deeply inspired every day by our incredibly diverse team, the users we serve and fellow female CEOs who are making progress in a largely male-dominated field.
I expect the challenges will persist, but I am confident we will one day get to gender equality. The question will become more about the challenges we face in making a difference in the world.
What advice do you have for other women looking to pursue a career in this space?
Creating an impact-driven start-up is not an easy task. I am a firm believer that if it were easy, it would have been done before. I am also a firm believer that where there is a will, there is a way. If there is something you care deeply about, a problem you can help solve, put everything you have into it and you’ll find a way to move mountains. Don’t worry about the speedbumps, those will always be there. Worry more about finding a problem that you care enough about to solve.
Does the technology/innovation your company is working on improve the livelihoods of women? If so, how?
Neopenda’s first product, neoGuard is a wearable vital signs monitor that continuously measures four vital signs in a simple headband. The monitor is designed to alert physicians and nurses, who are primarily women, in low-resource hospitals of any patients in distress.
How has the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund helped your project develop?
The Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund has enabled Neopenda to conduct feasibility trials with neoGuard in Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania. It has also enabled us to pilot the adult version of neoGuard, which has been adapted to help combat COVID-19, in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the USA.
Priscilla Sani-Chimwele, Founder and CEO of Wala Ltd, Malawi
Wala Ltd is a social enterprise that specialises in the productive use of solar for agriculture. Previously, Priscilla delivered projects for various international development organisations including the UN and GIZ. Wala Ltd is piloting a holistic support solution that will distribute high-quality solar irrigation equipment to smallholder farmers in Malawi. The project won funding as part of the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund’s Enabling Technologies call in 2020.
What challenges have you faced as a woman working in energy access?
One thing that has stood out is that there are hardly any other women, especially at leadership level. It’s difficult to find other people who look like you, sound like you and think like you. You sometimes find that you’re the only woman in the room and it can be a bit of a heavy weight to carry.
I’ve been deliberate about employing women and all of the funding we receive is gender-specific. In my company, the comment that I hear the most is that there are so many women. It’s unusual to see a company in the energy sector that has so many female employees.
Despite this, I have had a lot of support in terms of penetrating the market through collaboration. Recently, I won the EEP 2020 Rising Energy Leader award and the other winner was actually a Malawian woman as well, so we have made a connection.
What advice do you have for other women looking to pursue a career in this space?
There is nothing that a woman cannot do. Although energy can appear very technical, you do not need to be an expert to work in the sector. My background is project design, management and strategy and I collaborate with technical experts.
That being said, it’s important to equip yourself with the right tools and educate yourself. There are plenty of free courses online, which will equip you with the skills you need to succeed. It also helps you identify where the gaps are and what you can add to the sector.
You will be surprised how many people are willing to work with you, partnerships are very important. Now, whenever there is a need we collaborate and put our resources together.
Does the technology/innovation your company is working on improve the livelihoods of women? If so, how?
Women make up over 50% of the agricultural workforce in Malawi yet are generally relying on subsistence for their livelihood. We are very deliberate about targeting women and at least 50% of our beneficiaries are female. Our current focus is a solar water pump that allows low-income farmers to grow crops outside of the rainy season. This enables women to generate an income from higher crop yields.
How has the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund helped your project develop?
The funding has been catalytic in helping us role out our pilot model without the pressure of generating revenue. Without it, this would have taken far longer to do.
When women choose to do something, we can accomplish great results. For many of us, it’s fear that holds us back. This comes from many things, including education and culture. Given the constraints that exist, programmes like the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund are very important to help us get off the ground.
