Young African Women Initiatives (YAWI) has move a level higher to a social enterprise that empowers women with distribution system for solar technology, enabling them to earn income and improve their businesses with clean solar light.
YAWI uses a micro-loan method: YAWI Sisters are given the solar lanterns on credit to go and sell as they promote clear energy, when they sell them, they retain a commission on each sale and providing a margin to YAWI to cover the cost of operations. Thus the inventory loan is repaid each time the inventory is turned over and invested in a new inventory. The YAWI Sisters are conservatively projected to sell 2.3 lanterns per week: resulting in inventory turnover of 5 times per year, providing income to the YAWI Sister of $450 per annum each. YAWI supports this investment with a co-investment in training and marketing support to ensure that the women are empowered to build successful businesses. After the initial investment, the sales of solar lamps provide a sustainable income stream that will enable the women to continue to earn income and provide profits that will be reinvested back into the community in the form of community benefit renewable energy projects, such as solar water pumps for drip irrigation systems.
