I would love to connect with anyone who has written a business for a startup venture to benefit impoverished rural women. I am working with a CBO called Uganda Space and a student run group at The Cooper Union in New York City to launch a solar lighting microenterprise for women in Uganda. We are going to train 20-25 women in a rural collective to build self-assembled solar lighting systems for their own use and to sell to their neighbors at a profit. I am raising money friends to purchase the first few systems to get the women up and running. Once they are established, they will apply to MFI's for sustaining credit.

I would love to connect with someone who has written a business plan for a similar project or would be willing to share a sample of one.

Thank you for considering and best of luck on your ventures.

Genice Jacobs
Oakland, CA USA
510-530-6687
genice@blueflexsolutions.com

New report available on lightingafrica.org today
In case you missed it.

50 Ways to End Kerosene Lighting in Developing Countries

http://www.lightingafrica.org/files/Fifty Ways to End Kerosene Lighting in Developming Countries - REEP.pdf

There are various initiatives around the world to start solar microenterprises and microfranchises. I am working with The Cooper Union in rolling out SociaLite, the Lighting System in a Suitcase." The system is currently in technical pilot in Ghana, Burundi, Kenya and Rwanda. Our plan is to roll out the project as a microenterprise in a rural village in Uganda later this year. Following are links to an article about the project and the student's blog.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/green-inventors-solar-lighting.html

http://solarlantern.blogspot.com/

Solar-aid.org is also promoting solar microenterprise training programs in Malawi and in Kenya. The program in Kenya trains local entrepreneurs to convert kerosene lanterns to solar lanterns. More information can be found on www.solar-aid.org.

Please post any information you have about other solar microenterprise initiatives around the world.

Genice Jacobs
Volunteer
SociaLite, The Lighting System in a Suitcase
The Cooper Union