Photo: Merklit Mersha
The company’s “trade, not aid” business model relies on purchases of Little Suns in developed countries to support the sale of lamps in off-grid African communities at locally affordable prices. To date, Little Sun has empowered over 400 African entrepreneurs in 10 countries to start their own businesses selling Little Sun lamps, often by providing a small stock of lamps on credit as startup capital, as well as business workshops, marketing materials, and sales training. By creating entrepreneurial opportunities, Little Sun hopes to build self-sustaining distribution channels that are more resilient than donation-based aid programs.
In April 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies provided Little Sun with a transformative $5 million impact investment to help the company dramatically scale its operations across the globe.
Photo: Michael Tsegaye
126,000+ LITTLE SUN LAMPS SOLD IN OFF-GRID AREAS
600,000+ LIVES TOUCHED IN OFF-GRID AREAS
9,100 TONS OF CO2 EMISSIONS HAVE BEEN AVOIDED
400 PARTICIPATING AFRICAN ENTREPRENEURS
$3,600,000 SAVED ON ENERGY EXPENSES IN OFF-GRID HOUSEHOLDS
1.2 BILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE WITHOUT ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY
