Empowering Women-Led Enterprises Through Clean Energy

The Clean Energy for Development: A Call to Action (CEDCA) –  initiative is dedicated to generating evidence that informs policy reforms and innovations supporting a transformative clean energy transition. A key focus is enabling women and youth to lead in greening energy through micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Across low- and middle-income countries, MSMEs are not only major sources of jobs and income but also a critical pathway to gender-inclusive economic development. However, a lack of access to clean energy remains one of the greatest barriers to their success.

This article, written by CEDCA advisor and IDS research fellow Seife Ayele, presents two contrasting case studies that illustrate how electricity access—or the lack of it—can shape the role of MSMEs in a just energy transition. These examples highlight real-world challenges and opportunities in the shift towards inclusive and sustainable energy solutions.

Access to clean energy empowers women-led enterprises

Several cross-country studies show that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are greater sources of jobs and income in low-and middle-income countries than in high income countries, and the micro ones in particular are more likely to be led by women. However, lack of access to clean energy is one of the greatest barriers to these businesses.
In this piece I narrate two contrasting cases where access to electricity hampers or fosters the fight against poverty and climate change and reflect on how the challenges may be addressed.

A women-led MSME : Arerti, Ethiopia

Two years back I was on a research mission in Arerti town, central Ethiopia, and visited an MSME that was set up in 2022 with the help of a Netherlands-funded  2 Scale Programme. The underlying thinking in 2 Scale programming is co-designing and implementing projects to create new businesses run by those marginalised in their communities, often women and youth. The programme improves access to markets and facilitates the provision of essential services like credit.

The MSME I visited was set up by four unemployed women, and was supported by the 2 Scale Programme, a local farmers union (called Kessem Union), and local and regional government actors. The business bakes and sells injera (a staple bread in the area and in many parts of Ethiopia) and has no official name or logo. The women were assisted to use a shed built with support from the town administration, Kessem Union and 2 Scale Programme as their workplace

Teff Injera baking shed constructed with support from Kessem Union and 2 Scale Programme. credit: Seife Ayele

This Amharic sign translates to; “We provide fresh injera to: Hotels and restaurants, Events, Households”

Kessem Union supplied teff, the main ingredient of injera, to be paid for once the injera was sold. The entrepreneurs started well, were generating income and felt economically independent.

Besides their own jobs, the MSME has an induced employment effect downstream of the food value chain. Restaurateurs buying the injera in turn employed additional staff to work in their busy restaurants. While still in town, I held conversations with a couple of these restaurateurs who, while commenting positively on the performance of the entrepreneurs, pointed out some major areas for improvement, particularly regarding the consistency of the injera, its thickness, depth of cooking and the need for guaranteed timely deliveries.

I went back to the MSME owners with this feedback. They were fully aware of the limitations but were severely hampered by lack of access to a grid connection, and they were not able to pay for motorised delivery to the restaurants. They had to use firewood to bake injera, which directly contributed to tree damage and adversely affected the environment. Their workplace had no ventilation system either, so the smoke was impacting on their vision and general health. Moreover, one of the women had her toddler with her in the shed, so the child too was exposed to the unhealthy workplace.

The women at the MSME knew about the Ethiopian government’s electrification programme and industrial parks in nearby cities with grid connections for would-be investors. Their continuous plight for access to electricity, however, remained unaddressed.

Women solar engineers : Ambakivao, Madagascar

Recently, I listened to the BBC World Service Programme “People Fixing the World” and subsequently read more about an uplifting story about women prosumers (renewable electricity producers and consumers) from Ambakivao, Madagascar. These entrepreneurial women are varyingly referred to as women solar engineers, solar mamas or solar grandmothers.

The initiative to generate and use renewable energy started back in 2012 by the World Wildlife Fund, in collaboration with India-based Barefoot College International (BCI). These women solar engineers generate electricity using solar panels and service their own households and their communities. The unique features of the initiative are that it is, first, led by poor women with limited literacy and no knowledge of solar technology. These are women less likely to migrate to cities, but they generate income from installing and sustainably maintaining solar panels in their communities. Second, it targeted those who live in rural areas with less access to the grid system (some of these engineers were 70 kilometres south of the Capital Antananarivo). Finally, the entrepreneurs received training and technical support from relevant actors such as BFI, WWF and local government. As a result, they were empowered to function independently and sustainably. They overcame dependence on firewood and fossil fuel for lighting, and batteries for lighting and phone charging. The BBC report notes that, by end of the decade, 700 women engineers would provide 500 000 families access to renewable electricity. Using similar practical solutions, it is doubly encouraging that communities using renewable energy for business, cooking, heating and lighting is growing in many parts of the developing world.

The two cases demonstrate that, while the challenge is huge, access to electricity is key for women-led MSMEs to thrive. Concerted collaborative initiatives such as that which enabled women solar engineers can be instrumental in producing and consuming electricity from mini to large solar panels, even in less accessible rural areas. MSMEs in low- and middle-income countries can be prosumers and fight against poverty and climate change. Creating opportunities for women as well as men is important for increasing the number of renewably powered businesses and speeding up the transition to clean energy.

1. Targeted energy measures that assist MSMEs are desperately needed. Lack of electricity significantly restricts the expansion of businesses, as is shown in Ethiopia. CEDCA promotes inclusive electrification strategies, especially for high-potential women-led businesses without access to dependable energy. To see an example of this in action, read this blog about the recent work of ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), one of 12 research projects which make up CEDCA.
2. The potential of distributed renewable energy sources – The success of the Madagascar story shows how entire towns may be changed by sustainable energy companies run by women. In order to guarantee that women and young people are not only energy consumers but also engaged contributors to the clean energy economy, CEDCA seeks to expand such strategies. This is why projects like INFoCAT, lead by UNU INRA, were selected by IDRC to be a part of this initiative.