GreenPathways: Women’s Renewable Energy and Economic Empowerment.
By: Racheal Ogbozor
- Introduction / Problem Statement
Kpaduma and Nyanya are rural communities in Abuja, located in the north-central region of Nigeria, which faces somewhat energy poverty. Women in these communities have expressed their struggles with inadequate energy access, which hinders their ability to complete daily tasks both at home and at work. For example, Madam Martha, a small food business owner in Kpaduma, explains how the smoke from the firewood she uses for cooking has negatively affected her eyesight and overall health. Additionally, the prolonged cooking time means delays in preparing and serving meals to her customers. To cope with limited energy access, she occasionally uses a traditional, makeshift power source known locally as “After NEPA.” However, this technology only provides power for a few hours and relies on batteries, which have become increasingly expensive. As a result, Madam Martha and her family are often left in complete darkness for the rest of the night.
Fig.1, Madam Martha showing off where she cooks with firewood.
In Nigeria, approximately 45% of the population lacks access to energy, a deficit disproportionately affecting women. Women, who make up 70% of the labor force in agriculture, struggle with low productivity and economic instability due to unreliable energy access. Many still rely on traditional fuels, causing health risks and environmental degradation. While policies promoting women’s involvement in energy access exist, barriers such as low income and limited awareness persist, hindering their participation in the clean energy transition
To address these gaps, Clean Technology Hub (hereafter known as CTH) launched the “Microcredit Scheme and Productive Use of Renewable Energy Project” in October 2024. Supported by Climate KIC and Irish Aid, this programme empowers women in Nyanya and Kpaduma communities by providing clean energy solutions, financial training, and entrepreneurship opportunities.
2. Programme objectives
The Programme seeks to achieve the following:
- Facilitate women’s active participation in transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
- Promote adoption of clean cookstoves and solar-powered products.
- Provide financial literacy and entrepreneurship training.
- Establish sustainable green businesses through a cooperative model.
3. Baseline Assessment
Fig.2, Fuel Type for Cooking Used by Women in Kpaduma and Nyanya Communities (CTH Baseline Survey)
Overall, 66% of the women continue to face energy poverty through the continuous use of charcoal, fire wood and lack of economic opportunities. However, 60% are aware of alternative, cleaner energy sources, a statistic that can be attributed to 70% of the women having attained some level of education.
Fig.3, Percentage Distribution of Clean Energy by participants in both Kpaduma and Nyanya Community (CTH Baseline Survey)
Moving forward to assess their income levels, approximately 50% of the women who participated reported earning an average profit of ₦5,000–₦9,000, while 30% earn between ₦10,000–₦29,000 monthly. This indicates that around 80% of the women earn significantly below the poverty line. Given the ongoing recession and inflation in Nigeria, these earnings are barely sufficient to sustain a household for a month.
Fig.4, Income levels of participants in both communities (CTH Baseline Survey)
Further analysis revealed that 66% of respondents lack the financial means to acquire renewable energy products as seen below, which can be attributed to their low income levels. Additionally, approximately 26% are unaware of the existence of renewable energy products.
Fig.5, Acquisition challenge faced by participants from both community (CTH Baseline Survey)
Based on these findings, a community Business School to train the participants was established. Experts and clean technology manufacturers will conduct workshops, demonstrating how to use and maintain renewable energy products and how to scale or start businesses using these technologies.
5. Workshop / Capacity Building
The Training officially commenced on the 13th and 16th of November, 2024 at Nyanya and Kpaduma communities respectively.. The visits prioritized securing community leadership buy-in to the project. A meeting was held with the traditional leaders, including the community chiefs and cabinet members, to explain the project’s objectives and the focus on women as the primary beneficiaries.
Fig.6, Explaining the Baseline survey forms to the selected Ambassadors in one of the community (Nyanya)
During these discussions, the project team emphasized the transformative potential of empowering women — not only for their personal growth but also for the broader development of their communities. The leaders expressed enthusiasm, welcoming the initiative for its focus on renewable energy and entrepreneurship. This strong support from community leadership set a positive tone for the program.
Following the leadership engagement, participant registration began. This process documented the women interested in the program, enabling the team to anticipate attendance for future events. During registration, In Kpaduma and Nyanya, women had already begun collaborating with the team to establish financial cooperatives. The cooperatives were registered with the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in October 2024. Additionally, the cooperatives will enable the women to access opportunities financially, save towards a common goal/project for the community as well as ensure that the project is sustainable even when the current support is exhausted. The transition process continues with more women joining the cooperative and contributing and benefiting from the program.
Fig.7, Handing over the registered cooperative documents to the two communities
To further enhance financial inclusion, a critical barrier to women’s full participation in today’s society, the project established partnerships with a microfinance bank to provide accessible microcredit loans and facilitate opening bank accounts for the cooperative. This initiative ensures that women/ cooperatives have the necessary financial support to engage in entrepreneurial activities that promote their well-being and economic independence. The highlight of the visit was a training session on financial literacy, facilitated by Madam Theresa Chimaeze, a finance expert from the Clear Pay Microfinance financial institution. Topics comprising budgeting, investment, income and expense management were covered. Through practical examples, the expert underscored the importance of effective financial planning, record-keeping, and identifying profitable opportunities.
Additionally, she introduced participants to the steps for opening bank accounts and accessing loans as a registered cooperative. A total of 40 women from the two communities previously without independent bank accounts expressed interest in starting the process.
The second training session took place on December 4th and 6th 2024 for Kpaduma and Nyanya respectively. Ms. Grace Babafemi, Business and HR Manager at Solar Sisters facilitated the session. Solar Sisters is in partnership with Clean Technology Hub to provide training and support to women transitioning to the use of solar products and clean cook stoves in Nigeria and Africa at large. She taught the women on key business models such as pay as you go (PAYG), the cooperative model and how to use renewable energy products to scale up existing businesses citing example with Women involved in selling dried agricultural products can transition from traditional sun-drying methods, which take days, to using solar dryers or dehydrators that dry the products within minutes.
Fig.8, Group Photograph after a workshop with the two communities
The visit successfully achieved its goals of introducing the program, securing community support, and delivering impactful training. The enthusiastic responses from both the leadership and participants underscored the program’s relevance and potential for transformative change.
7. Output
- It is worthy to note that the cooperative which started with 50 women each from the communities has grown to over 70 women for the Kpaduma community and 55 women for Nynaya community.
- Additionally, all women indicated interest towards becoming clean energy entrepreneurs.
- 2 Capacity building on financial and entrepreneurship skills were successfully conducted
- Clean Technology Hub has been able to create a community business School through this project and finally has established 3 partnerships (Solar Sisters, Power Stove, Clear Pay Microfinance)
In our next article, we will delve into the outcomes of this program, exploring its impact and the progress made in empowering women through the renewable energy and microcredit initiative as well as possibilities for replicating the initiative to other communities across Nigeria and Africa.
