Khulumani Gogos Going Green

Supports successful small enterprise development and management in the solar energy sector.
2013 SEED South Africa Award; European Union
Clean Energy
Johannesburg
South Africa

The enterprise promotes the participation of grandmothers in savings and credit groups. These groups provide loans to finance investments in solar lighting and charging systems that meet household energy needs. The objectives of the enterprise are to expand the supply and distribution of solar systems to off-grid households. The enterprise builds capacity amongst grandmothers for managing a small enterprise in the solar energy sector. This then meets their needs for mobile phone charging and basic lighting, reducing their vulnerability to gender-based violence.

Eco-Inclusive Impacts
Khulumani Gogos Going Green is reducing women's vulnerability to gender-based violence and facilitating access to communication technology for rural communities.
  • Facilitating women's economic independence as household providers.
  • Introducing savings group processes to 20 new groups of 10 –15 women each year.
  • Enhancing social capital for sustainability of the enterprise.
  • Building the management and development capacity of women in the enterprise.
  • Enhancing quality of life in rural households through solar energy systems for lighting and mobile phone charging.
  • Using solar energy in place of coal or biomass.
  • Raising community environmental awareness.
  • Sharing knowledge and experience of recycling as an economic opportunity.
  • Beneficiary households have more hours to engage in productive activities generating income.
  • Household lighting and mobile phone-charging capacity enhances the safety of women and girls.
  • Each savings and credit group invests at least USD 1,200 a year in enterprises.

Partners

Khulumani Gogos Going Green is a small enterprise initiated by elderly women living in rural areas who form savings clubs to enable them to gain access to solar lighting and electricity. It thus supports successful small enterprise development and management in the solar energy sector, while reducing women's vulnerability to sexual assault and facilitating access to communication technology for rural communities.

Khulumani Gogos Going Green hosts the SaveAct savings clubs run by local field workers who have been trained by SaveAct. Members of the savings clubs can access loans to invest in the solar energy products sold by participants in the enterprise.

SaveAct collaborates with Khulumani to teach members of the savings groups financial skills for small enterprise development. This supports their economic sustainability and well-being.

PlanMyPower Solar Solutions provides information, technical advice and solar energy solutions. It is responsible for rolling out the distribution of solar energy systems in rural areas of the Eastern Cape.