Incorporated in 2014, Solar Aid is a culmination of efforts of a women led Team who revamped the company after the founder UK based charity -Solar Aid, pulled out in March 2018. The Social Enterprise uses the brand name Sunnymoney. Harriet Nongoola and Ramulat Andiru the current owners worked for Solar Aid, until March 2018 Sunnymoney is a last mile distributor of solar products across the country in a bid to increase access to clean energy.
“It has not been an easy journey after the founders/ donors pulled out. We had to start over with only four staff doing voluntary work because salary was no more,”Nongoola narrates. Sunnymoney mainly deals in solar lights, including entry solar lamps which are sold at UGX30,000, phone charging lights ranging between UGX100,000- UGX150,000, plug and play solar homes systems at UGX300,000- UGX450,000, upgradable plug and play solar products and most recently installation of institutional lighting and security lights.
Partnerships with reputable manufacturers (Schneider Electric, Sunking & Namene solar) have enabled Sunnymoney to introduce good brands to the market. The company employs an agent based distribution model which utilizes primary school teachers in rural areas who mobilize buyers in order to access hard to reach areas.
It employs field staff who deliver the products to the teachers at the various coordinating centres in the districts, continuous product training, providing aftersales services and also growing its agent base across new districts. “The impact of these sales is far reaching. These units have been sold to households housing about five people all of whom are now benefitting from the clean solar ight. That is about 125,000 people including children who now get extra reading time because of the light,” Nongoola notes.
Sunnymoney currently distributes lights to over 30 districts including Arua, Zombo, Koboko, Maracha, Katakwi, Kumi, Kaberamaido, Budaka, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, Oyam and Kibaale among others.
Contact Sunnymoney; 0772 310 993 | 0790 566 079
By Harriet Nongoola, Founder- Sunnymoney