Source: http://www.trust.org/item/20161206111106-w2r52/


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Women solar entrepreneurs drive East African business surge


By Kizito Makoye | Tue, 6 Dec 2016 11:07 AM



By Kizito Makoye

BUNAMBIYU, Tanzania, Dec 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As the darkness falls on the plains around Bunambiyu, a remote village in Tanzania's northern Shinyanga region, Elizabeth Julius switches on her solar lantern to finish sewing clothes for her customers.

Not long ago, nightfall would have forced her to close her tailoring shop, or use a smoky kerosene lamp. But with the solar-powered lamp, Julius can now sew for as long as she wants.

"Solar energy has entirely changed my life. I use it at work and at home, yet it doesn't cost me anything," said the 29-year-old entrepreneur and mother of two.

"I often wake up at night to work because I need the money to support my family," she said.

Julius and her husband Zablon used to earn barely enough to meet the needs of their growing family, she said.

But three years ago, Julius secured a $500 bank loan to buy solar lanterns, which she sold to customers.

With the additional income earned, she then sought another larger loan to expand her tailoring business to include a barber shop, mobile phone charging facility and a consumer goods shop, all powered with solar energy.

Now "we are more productive than ever before. On average we can get 50,000 shillings ($25) a day, even more," she said.