Smiling Through Light is teaming up with the Dutch energy company Spark, to bring last-mile communities in Sierra Leone life-changing energy access. We’re combining our community-led approach with Spark’s leading solar home systems to deliver clean, reliable, and sustainable solar energy products across Sierra Leone.
We tap into local networks by working with women who are trusted members of their communities. We create jobs and income opportunities that significantly improve their lives and help lift them out of poverty. This helps us in our mission to reach the most remote last-mile customers who are unserved by current energy networks. Our unique approach doubles our impact in last-mile communities by providing both energy access and addressing low employment rates for women.
Working with Spark to connect Sierra Leone to energy access
Spark is an expert in the off-grid solar energy sector, especially when it comes to reaching the most remote regions of sub-Saharan Africa. They understand the challenges companies working to connect communities to energy are facing, and they have innovative solutions.
Their modular, scalable solar home systems are designed to be affordable for customers at the base of the energy pyramid, whilst being easily upgraded. The Spark Kit’s stackable battery design allows customers to add more capacity to power more appliances as their energy needs and incomes grow.
This, combined with their PAYGo, is revolutionary for the communities we serve. It removes the financial barrier for customers, and supports STL’s distribution and growth in the market.
First-Time Energy For Off-Grid Communities
In Sierra Leone only around one in four people - 26% of the population - has electricity access, dropping to just 6% in rural areas. This is primarily where Smiling Through Light works. We know that women shoulder the toughest effects of this energy poverty, relying on dirty, toxic kerosene for lighting at home.
Through this new partnership with Spark, we will be able to begin to move the needle on these numbers and provide women, small businesses and families with first-time access to affordable energy products that power their home life and work with up to 30W.
The collaboration with Spark will initially offer 3 types of Spark Solar Home Systems aimed at entry-level energy service:
Spark Start 10W
Spark Start 20W
Spark Steady 30W
All are offered on STL's PAYGo model and powered by the Solaris PayOps platform, which allows customers to pay in small instalments for their product, so they can start benefiting from having electricity at home straight away.
Mariama Kamara, Founder & Director of Smiling Through Light said:
"We are already making an impact in Sierra Leone with our smart solar systems, providing an on-grid experience in an off-grid setting. There is still a significant need for reliable energy in the country and we believe that this collaboration will help deliver a sustainable solution for customers and businesses in Sierra Leone creating an impact".
Shagun Jain, Commercial Director of Spark said:
“Spark is proud to partner with Smiling Through Light as our distributor who, with their local knowledge and expertise, can drive efficiency in the Sierra Leone off-grid energy market and overcome country-specific challenges.
We understand that electricity sparks opportunities for last mile communities that are otherwise out of reach. By providing affordable, and high-quality solar home systems and unlocking financing solutions, we can deliver energy access that leaves no one behind.”
At STL we are looking forward to seeing this partnership help us reach more customers in last mile communities improving productivity and powering economic growth.
Quality Solar Products and Customer Satisfaction
At STL, enhancing customer experience and offering the highest-quality products is paramount. We are constantly searching for new ideas and investing in partnerships to improve the quality of our products.
This has directly led to our partnership with Spark, who are committed to product quality and development of the off-grid solar sector. Spark products sold by STL are verified by VeraSol; the leading independent quality assurance programme for distributed solar solutions, appliances and equipment. Early customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with customers commenting on the brightness, hours of service and cost savings they have enjoyed while using their Spark products.
Through our continued work with Spark, we aim to contribute to the government of Sierra Leone’s targets for electricity access and alleviate the need for expensive transmission and distribution grid infrastructure. Simultaneously, our customers now have access to a more cost-effective solution that provides a renewable, reliable and uninterrupted source of energy.
Smiling Through Light Team with Spark Solar Home Systems.
Customer in Lunsar using one of the Spark Solar Home System for her trading business.
