The world is behind the required pace to reach UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: clean and affordable energy for all by 2030. SolarAid has been trying to help to lead the way. We launch a product today, with our partner Namene Solar Light Company, of which we have great hopes. It is a good time for for a state-of-play report.

1. A history in pictures and charts
as we help launch an upgraded best-of-class solar light
and approach our 2 millionth solar light sale
3 December
2018

2. Preface
In order not to make the number of charts too daunting
an obstacle to those who don’t know us well, very few
of the current SolarAid and SunnyMoney team
members or our esteemed alumni are mentioned by
name in this history. But I am confident that everyone
will appreciate that I am profoundly and enduringly
grateful to them all.
Jeremy Leggett
3rd December 2018

3. Editorial note
This slideshow should be regarded as a work in progress.
Suggestions for additions will be gratefully received, and of
course any mistakes of record or memory will be corrected
in a version kept updated periodically on my website:
www.jeremyleggett.net

4. 5% of profits
7th Jan
2016
1998
Our origin: a simple idea 20 years ago,
at the start of Solarcentury’s journey
A solar company-with-a-difference uses venture capital to grow, and
creates a non-profit social venture that stimulates solar lighting markets.

5. 7th Jan
2016
28th Oct
1998
SolarAid is set up on paper, awaiting
Solarcentury’s first profits

6. -5
0
5
10
15
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06
Round 2
£1m
SSE
First of two phases of investment and ascent to
profitability: through the recession following
the bursting of the dot-com bubble….
Round 1
£8m
GrupoEcos
£m
1st commercial
installation
50th
installation
1st £500k
project
1st own-product
trial: C21e
1st new
product award
1st own-product
production
Revenue
EBITDA
Loss
SolarAid start-up
can now be
funded
7th Jan
2016
1998
to
2006
Solarcentury takes longer than hoped to get
through “the Valley of Death” and reach first profits

7. Our target

8. 600 million without electricity in Africa
Solar
Aid

9. 1 billion without electricity in the world

10. % population without grid electricity

11. Option 1:
burn oil (kerosene)
….at c.$50 a year
Annual global spend on kerosene and other unsustainables:
$27 billion

12. Option 2:
Solar light
…at $5 (as of 2018)
for 3-5 years
Savings per
household:
Average annual
income, Malawi:
$225
$145 at least

13. Early SolarAid ads

14. Phase 1 of 5:
Reconnaissance
2006 – 2008
Seeking a route to major impact

15. Charity SolarAid set up with 5% of Solarcentury’s
2005 operating profit (£35k) and Nick Sireau as CEO
7th Jan
2016
30th May
2006
While leading SolarAid until 2010, Nick will enjoy great success in
leveraging further funding with Solarcentury’s small first donation.

16. John Keane starts volunteering for SolarAid, in its
setup stage, before joining full time as 2nd employee
7th Jan
2016
May
2006
He led programme design and implementation then ….and he is still
with us today, leading SolarAid and SunnyMoney as CEO.

17. Solarcentury’s Andy Bodycombe takes a 6 month
sabbatical in Malawi starting SolarAid operations
7th Jan
2016
2006

18. Andy installs 300W of solar and batteries plus lights
(“macrosolar”, as we call it) for Kaliya Youth Group
7th Jan
2016
2006

19. The Kaliya solar building opens up a whole new set
of evening activities for the community
7th Jan
2016
2006
The KYG is a community-based organization helping young people with
HIV-AIDS. Theirs is the only building with electricity in their village. New
activities include evening classes, tinsmithing, battery charging, cinema.

20. Nick, Andy, and John set up a small factory for the
assembly of microsolar lights by Malawians
7th Jan
2016
2006
But as Chinese solar lanterns start to appear in Africa, it becomes clear
that this experiment cannot produce competitive products.

21. Gordon Brown formally launches SolarAid
7th Jan
2016
26th Sep
2006
The Labour Chancellor gives a speech to the press and party conference
delegates in Manchester about the importance of solar in development.

22. Cate Blanchett agrees to be SolarAid’s first Patron
7th Jan
2016
Oct
2006
For the next three years she leads appeals, hosts dinners, and
appears for us on media including the BBC’s Today Programme.
“Imagine, night in Africa…”
SolarAid appeal video

23. SolarAid supports the start up of a second
microsolar assembly project, in Iringa, Tanzania
7th Jan
2016
2007
The Neema Crafts Centre is a project for disabled and deaf local people
who otherwise find jobs and support for their families hard to come by.

24. Our first six-figure donation: Stephan Schmidheiny
donates £250,000 to SolarAid
7th Jan
2016
27th Apr
2007
Stephan, World Business Council for Sustainable Development founder
and a major philanthropist, was Solarcentury’s first investor.

25. SolarAid sets up in Tanzania, Zambia & Kenya with
funders including Big Lottery Fund and Vodafone
7th Jan
2016
2008
A school day
starts in Tanzania
(minus solar)

26. Brave Mhonie, a teacher, joins SolarAid, to rise
through the ranks until he leads SM Malawi today
7th Jan
2016
4th Mar
2008
Brave graduated from the University of St Gallen Business School in
2017 with a postgraduate diploma after a course paid for by SolarAid.

27. Philip Angier, an ex banker with a passion for
development, joins the board as Treasurer
7th Jan
2016
Mar
2008
He will remain on the board until 2017, a mission-critical pillar of
strength in all things financial and beyond, through good times and bad.

28. Communities hated it – the hurricane lamp is seen as a symbol of
poverty. But the customer feedback propelled SolarAid to seek solar
lights that the market wanted.
A bright idea ….not. One of SolarAid’s first ever
solar lights incorporated into a hurricane lamp.
2008

29. Phase 2 of 5:
Macro and micro
2008 – 2012
Still seeking a route to major impact
….but beginning to sell

30. -th ---
2016
Solarcentury growth2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xAs well as macrosolar, we begin marketing and
selling quality-verified microsolar lighting products
2008 to
2015

31. Strategy: we decide to shoot for replacement of all
kerosene lamps in Africa with solar within 10 years
7th Jan
2016
June
2008
At this stage we still include macrosolar installations in our
- as it would turn out - completely overambitious strategic goal.

32. We set up SunnyMoney as a retail brand, aiming to
catalyse national solar light markets
7th Jan
2016
October
2008
Aim: to run SunnyMoney as though it is for-profit company, but to use
philanthropic funds as equity SolarAid does not not expect returned.

36. Author Ian McEwan agrees to become
a patron of SolarAid
7th Jan
2016
October
2008
He will do two BBC Radio charity appeals for us in the years ahead,
one of them the most successful BBC appeal ever.

37. SolarAid chosen by The Times newspaper as
Christmas charity of the year
7th Jan
2016
Dec
2009
The appeal and a series of Times articles on the charity generates
a significant increase in interest in our work.

38. By now, we have installed macrosolar on 52
rural schools, community centres and clinics….
7th Jan
2016
March
2010
…and sold 5,500 solar light products via SunnyMoney.

42. Luhunga School, Tanzania
….lit up by a SolarAid
macrosolar installation

43. Zambia Ops Director Karla Kanyanga’s son
Christopher does his homework by solar light

44. Two supporters cycle round the world
to raise funds for SolarAid
7th Jan
2016
March
2010
There will be many more wonderful feats of endurance fundraising
for the charity in the years ahead.
Susie
Wheeldon,
who later
works for
SolarAid

45. Karla Kanyanga, an American nurse, joins SolarAid
…and today she leads SunnyMoney Zambia.
7th Jan
2016
1st June
2010
Before becoming Ops Director, Karla (left) was right hand person to her
predecessor, Alex Burrough (right, Jan 2013 – Feb '18 with SunnyMoney)

47. The Solarcentury SolarRollers, just before they
undertake a stage of the Tour de Britain for SolarAid
7th Jan
2016
Sep
2010

48. Steve Andrews takes over as CEO after Nick Sireau
steps down to pursue other charity work
7th Jan
2016
Sep
2010
Steve has been a long-time advisor to SolarAid and Solarcentury, as CEO
of award-winning direct-marketing company Whitewater.

49. SunnyMoney sells 3,400 solar lights in just 4 days,
via schools, on Mafia Island, Tanzania
7th Jan
2016
Dec
2010
We are hopeful that we have identified a route to market that can scale
quickly. And this proves to be the case, in both Tanzania and Kenya.

50. First reports that grades are going up in schools
SunnyMoney has supplied in Kenya: Kitui District
7th Jan
2016
Feb
2011
Anecdotal evidence of rising grades continues to come in from other
schools in other districts in the months and years ahead.
SunnyMoney
field staff
consistently
report that
educational
attainment is
the single
biggest
incentive for
buying a solar
light.

51. By now, we have sold 18,000 solar light products
reaching some 84,000 beneficiaries
7th Jan
2016
March
2011
We have also installed macrosolar on 200 rural schools, community
centres & clinics. But our growth is not exponential, as we had hoped.
Our main
manufacturing
partners
(products
shown) are
Greenlight
Planet and
d-light.

52. Richard Turner becomes Director of
Marketing and Fundraising
7th Jan
2016
June
2011
He brings a wealth of experience, having been head of fundraising at
both ActionAid and FARM Africa, and will be with us until 2016.

53. UK government announces deep cuts in solar feed-
in tariffs from August
7th Jan
2016
Jun
2011
The tariff cut is aimed at killing the solar-farm market. It sparks a rush to
complete big ground mount systems within weeks.
July 2011: Solarcentury runners
take on 10 k for SolarAid

54. SunnyMoney Global launched as a private limited
company, owned by SolarAid
7th Jan
2016
27th Sep
2011
We aim to replicate the successful Mafia Island pilot across Tanzania,
Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia, in a unified social enterprise.
Solar light
deliveries,
Zambia

55. SolarAid sets ‘BHAG’ goal to eradicate the kerosene
lamp from Africa by 2020 …with microsolar
7th Jan
2016
June
2011
Nancy delivers
solar lights in
Zambia
…how many
van loads make
a BHAG?
As we complete macrosolar commitments, we decide to focus on scaling
up distribution of more affordable pico solar lights & systems <10W.

56. John Keane on the day the senior team came up with the school
campaigns strategy. It will prove to be a breakthrough idea.
Nov
2011
A bright idea – the SunnyMoney Way is born:
convening headteachers to see solar lights at work

57. SunnyMoney sells 3,400 solar lights in just 4 days,
via schools, on Mafia Island, Tanzania
7th Jan
2016
Dec
2010
We are hopeful that we have identified a route to market that can scale
quickly. And this proves to be the case, in both Tanzania and Kenya.
A headteachers training day

60. So, a new strategy
with this in mind….

61. One of many deadly African fires caused using
candles for light: Idodi School, Iringa, Tanzania
7th Jan
2016
August
2009
12 girls died in this fire in a dormitory next to a building we had installed
a macrosolar unit on. Had we deployed microsolar all over instead…..

62. The tragedy has a profound impact on staff and is a
key factor in the decision to focus on microsolar
Aug
2009

63. Phase 3 of 5:
Exponential growth
2012 – 2015
Potentially major impact, finally

64. SunnyMoney sells 51,811 solar lights in the
2011-12 FY ….up 287% from 18,000 in 2010-11
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2012
SolarAid has at this point installed 416 macrosolar systems on schools,
medical centres and community centres in rural, off-grid locations.

65. Funds raised from the start in 2006 until this point
total £8.3 million, mostly donated by corporations
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2012
71k light units sold to date, but we urgently need a better social return
per philanthropic £. We keep learning, and focusing, in search of that.
Fundraising at the Design Lighting Awards

66. 7th Jan
2016
June
2012
Derry Newman, 2nd Solarcentury CEO (2007-2012),
joins SolarAid’s board, adding vital business skills
He will stay until
December 2017,
playing a major
role with Philip
Angier during
the ups and
downs to come

67. Kat Harrison joins SolarAid
as Director of Research
7th Jan
2016
She will remain with us, leading our journey to world leader in solar light
impact research, until October 2015, when she moves on to Acumen.
August
2012

68. Lorraine Hammond, a tax and audit accountant,
joins SolarAid as Project Accountant
7th Jan
2016
2nd Sep
2012
Today she is Finance Director, leading us through massive change
and into the next exciting phase of our development.

69. Sales soar beyond 200,000: SunnyMoney becomes
top seller of solar lights in the whole of Africa
7th Jan
2016
Dec
2012

71. Picture of
students ?
Business students from around the world pitch their ideas to help
provide solar power to remote communities. Some are inspired to work
for our innovation unit in Nairobi, “SunnyMoney Brains”.
2012 SolarAid chosen as part of the Hult Global Case
Challenge: a $1m prize split equally by 3 causes

72. Rock-star free-solo world climbing champion Alex
Honnold becomes a major donor to SolarAid
7th Jan
20162012
He is a material supporter as well as donor. US donations to the charity
will be channeled through his foundation.
Look Mum, no ropes

73. His world record attempt is thwarted when he is hit by a truck. A local
doctor looks after him and donates a new bike for him to continue.
2012
Sean Conway, born in Zambia, cycles around the
world for SolarAid raising £17,000

74. 7th Jan
2016
28th Feb
2013
BBC Newsnight covers SolarAid’s SunnyMoney
Kenya operations
In a remote school, a BBC reporter interviews Enock, who came in top
60 nationally in exams. Enock says (unprompted) his solar light is why.
“What do
you want to
do in your
future? What
is your
hope?”
“To be a
doctor”

75. SunnyMoney sells 338,298 solar lights in the
2012-13 FY ….up 650% from 51,811 in 2011-12
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2013
60% of our sales are in Tanzania, where finally we are showing signs of
catalyzing our first solar light market via exponential growth.
Team
Tanzania

76. SolarAid secures a £300,000 working capital facility
with social investor AlphaMundi
7th Jan
2016
April
2013
This is the first debt we have raised, encouraged by the rapid growth of
2012-13. We need it to get even more lights into a hungry market.

77. The SolarAid team with Dan Colby of Google. Pippa Palmer (right) was
the driver behind our winning proposal and a £500k award.
SolarAid named one of four winners in the
Google Global Impact Challenge
3rd June
2013

78. Solarcentury CEO Frans van den Heuvel makes his
50th birthday party a fundraiser for SolarAid
7th Jan
2016
22nd Jun
2013
Frans receiving
the SPP Lifetime
Achievement Award

79. British government’s Department for International
Development (DFID) begins supporting SolarAid
7th Jan
2016
Nov
2013
The first project involves matching funds the organization raises over a 3
month period. More direct support for programmes will follow.

80. Support pours in, with the Guardian and Observer,
Google and Business Green among those joining the general public.
Nov
2013
The fundraising campaign “Bring Me Sunshine”
goes on to raise £1.2 million

81. SolarAid is one of four charities supported in the
Guardian & Observer Christmas appeal
7th Jan
2016
Dec
2013
We also benefit from a series of articles based on visits by journalists
including John Vidal to our work in the field.

82. SolarAid wins 3 major awards in one year
7th Jan
20162013
The Guardian Sustainable Business Award, Ashden Gold Award
and Google Global Impact Challenge.

83. SolarAid partners with Google on the largest ever
Randomised Control Trial study for pico-solar lights
7th Jan
2016
Dec
2013

84. At this stage, our data collection on our impact is
widely seen as best in the entire solar light industry
7th Jan
2016
Jan
2014
• 30,000 + direct research
interactions
• Quantitative and qualitative
• Informs our business strategy
• Adopted by our industry association
the Global Off Grid Lighting
Association (GOGLA)

85. 7th Jan
2016
2013
to
2014
Kenyan lawyer Joseph Karanja pioneers use of
SolarAid lights for tribal peace and reconciliation
After extraordinary results in his native Eldoret, which was an epicenter
of inter-tribal election violence in 2007, he takes his project national.

86. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xMarking a Solarcentury donation to SolarAid
at a combined team meeting
28th Jan
2014
Eynsham, Oxfordshire

87. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xSunnyMoney Kenya begins first Kenya trials
of Pay-As-You-Go solar lights in Machakos
Jan
2014
SunnyMoney
global director
Cindy Kerr
CEO
Steve
Andrews
Kenya
Ops director
Linda
Wamune
Funding to test the viability of the marketing and distribution model
comes from the Kenya Climate Innovation Center.

88. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xSA and SM design and deliver new Light Library
model in Senegal with World Bank / Lighting Africa
Jan
2014
The idea is that by accessing solar lights in a “library,” people will
become familiar with products and many will want to own / sell them.

89. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xJeremy Leggett and major donor Jamie Arbib tour
SunnyMoney’s Kenyan operations
4th Feb
2014
Eynsham, OxfordshireHere they talk about SolarAid’s aspirations to a group of headteachers
gathered for a solar-light induction in the Eldoret region.

90. SunnyMoney sells 613,165 solar lights in the
2013-14 FY ….up 81% from 338,298 in 2012-13
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2014

91. SA raises £2.2 million of donated funds in
FY 2013-14, with companies the biggest donors
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2014
SM holds £438 k of debt, but we are confident <20% commercial debt
to philanthropic funding is a good ratio in such a dynamic market.

92. 2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xSunnyMoney sells its millionth solar light
….and reaches more than 4 million people
Mar
2014

93. A few years later we learn of one couple who choose to leave generous
legacies to SolarAid. Our gratitude to them was part of their rationale.
April
2014
“Thanks a million” campaign to contact supporters
to thank them for helping us reach 1 million

94. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xSolarAid CEO Steve Andrews moves on to set up a
Kenyan solar and consumer goods company
April
2014
When he joined we were selling c. 2,000 lights per month. He leaves an
organisation that is now selling around 65,000 lights per month.

95. The first three SolarAid’s CEOs2014
Andy Webb Steve Andrews Nick Sireau

96. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xSunnyMoney receives Platinum GIIRS social impact
rating, the highest possible
June
2014
This standing in the the Global Impact Investing Rating System is
testament to the world-leading work of Kat Harrison and her team.

97. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
x
SunnyMoney opens a fifth office, in Uganda
June
2014
Ramulat Anduru joins the team as accountant, later to become
Operations Director.

98. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xJamie McCloskey joins SolarAid after heading
fundraising at the National AIDS Trust
14th Sep
2014
Pictured here with Brave Mhonie in Malawi,
he now heads fundraising at SolarAid.

99. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xIan Marchant, a significant individual donor to
SolarAid, visits our Malawi operations
Sep
2014
The former SSE CEO, founder of “Scotland Lights Up Malawi”,
has been an ambassador of ours throughout our history.

100. SolarAid supporter Keith Neal ships 100 solar lights
to Ebola-stricken Sierra Leone
7th Jan
2016
Oct 2014
- 2015
Medical teams working at night

101. Just 100 SolarAid lights “contributed greatly to the
control of the spread of Ebola in the (Bo) district”.
7th Jan
2016
Oct 2014
- 2015
15 Chiefdom taskforces, 10
burial teams, 5 Emergency
Obstetrics and Neonatal
Care Centres, 5 Pillars for
Ebola Response and the
Central Command Centre
were now all able to work
around the clock treating
those in the stricken district.
So the Government of Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation
writes in a thank-you letter to Keith Neal.

102. The fundraising campaign ‘Light the Way’ goes on to raise over £1
million with support from Virgin, The Big Issue, and The Duke of York.
SolarAid awarded its second UK Aid match with UK
Government matching donations from the public
Dec
2014

103. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xSolarAid is runner up for the Zayed Future Energy
Prize ($1 million)
19th Jan
2015
This after screening of thousands of entries from SME development
projects around the world by eminent judges including Richard Branson.

104. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xThe Zayed near-miss is painful. Entering 2015, we
are beginning to see financial trouble ahead
Jan
2015
We plan a “Chair’s campaign” to persuade foundations to back us at
scale, companies to contribute 5% of profits like Solarcentury does, etc.

105. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xA great way to start The International Year of Light:
SolarAid has sold 1.5 million solar lights
21st Jan
2015
SunnyMoney Kenya Operations Director Linda Wamune gives a speech
about our work at the launch event in Paris.

106. SunnyMoney sells a record 624,468 solar lights in
the 2014-15 FY ….up 1.8% from 613,165 in 2013-14
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2015
We have sold more than 1.7 million lights since we began, benefitting
more than 10 million people in 1.5 million households across East Africa.
Training agents
in Zambia

107. SA raises a record £2.5 million of donated funds in
FY 2014-15, with companies the biggest donors
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2015
Plus SunnyMoney has now drawn £536k of loans from social investors
(£467k this FY), repayable within 3 years ….fine unless sales drop.

108. 2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xSolarAid reaches its 10 millionth person
with solar light
Apr
2015
This is c. 20% of the c 50 million reached so far across the continent.
….550 million for us and the solar light industry still to reach.

109. The first two African
solar lighting markets
catalysed
1.7 million sold
….198.2 million to go
"Few, if any, other businesses have launched
a sustainable brand and enabled thousands of people
to live more sustainably in such a short space of time”
$25
1st light sold
$10
Tanzania
Kenya
Zambia
Malawi
Uganda
-th ---
2016
Solarcentury growth2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xSummary of Phase 3: Finding and hitting an updraft
to become Africa’s biggest solar lighting retailer
2012 to
2015
per light

110. -th ---
2016
Solarcentury growth2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xQuantifying the impact of SolarAid’s SunnyMoney’s
1.9 million solar light sales
2016
Reaching
> 10 million
people
£283.4 million
saved by rural
families
1.9 billion
extra study
hours for
children
2 million
tonnes of CO₂
emissions
averted
Safer homes
with
reduced risk
of fire and
burns
4 million
experiencing
better health

111. PWC gives us the Prove It Social Impact award
for this web-based innovation.
We design an impact calculator to help supporters
see the impact of their contributions & fundraising
2015

112. Phase 4 of 5:
Scaling back
2015 - 2016
After selling an unprecedented volume of lights -
over 1.4 m in Tanzania and Kenya - we become over
stretched: the speed of incoming competition, and
the consequent “race to the bottom” on pricing,
takes us by surprise….

113. -th ---
2016
Solarcentury growth2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xAs VC-backed companies enter the markets
we have catalyzed, our sales plummet….
2015
….while we hold large stocks in warehouses and on the water.
Generic products, available at lower prices, add to the challenge.

114. 2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xSolarAid and SunnyMoney restructure under
extreme cash pressure as sales fall
Summer
2015
Caesar Mwangi, SunnyMoney CEO 2015 -
2016, leads the withdrawal from Tanzania
and Kenya
Andy Webb, SolarAid CEO 2015 - 2016,
leads the downsizing and restructuring of
the head office in the UK
At the point of our contraction, we have sold 1.7 million solar lights. All
players operating continent-wide have sold around 10 million.

115. -th ---
2016
Solarcentury growth2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xJan
2015
But the upbeat assessment is much dependent on “massive potential to
work with companies to leverage existing market channels and develop
new channels to market through innovative strategic partnerships.”
Free audit of SC & SM finds “a winning
formula both unique and scaleable”

116. Each sale equates to a night of light for a child in Africa.
Sales of 9 Bars raise £250,000 for SolarAid.
“Good Energy Twice”: Wholebake approach
SolarAid for a partnership with their 9 Bar range.
2015

117. -th ---
2016
Solarcentury growth2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xRichard Branson helps out with the SolarAid
“Chair’s Campaign” on fundraising
June
2015
“SolarAid brings together the best of business and charity to tackle two
of the world’s biggest problems: climate change and poverty.”

118. -th ---
2016
Solarcentury growth2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xJamie Arbib, long-time SolarAid supporter, lends us
£100,000 at a life-saving cash-flow moment
Aug
2015
Pictured here at a Charities Aid Foundation event, Jamie is founder and
director of the Tellus Mater Foundation.

119. -th ---
2016
Solarcentury growth2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xThree international superstars join forces to make a
fundraising video for SolarAid
Aug
2015
Canadian pop star Raghav, American rapper Nelly, & Bollywood’s
Abhishek Bachchan perform “Until The Sun Comes Up”.

120. 30th Sep
2015
18th Sep
2015
UNGA agrees Sustainable Development Goals
Aim: to eradicate poverty via sustainable development
SolarAid’s work pertains to 14 of them. The target on which others
depend is SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy for Everyone by 2030.

121. Southwick Solar Farm
48 MWp
2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xFor the second year running, SolarAid is runner up
for the (now $1.5 million) Zayed Future Energy Prize
15th Jan
2016
Jeremy Leggett: “It is a rare form of torture to come so close, twice, to a
cash prize that could save SolarAid and SunnyMoney from the mistake -
which I must take the blame for - of literally not planning for success.”

122. 2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xOur industry peers tell us we led catalyzation of the
markets they now enjoy in Kenya and Tanzania
2016
“SolarAid’s SunnyMoney non-profit
business model acts as a market
primer for companies like ours. We
have found it much easier to
penetrate markets where customers
have already had a positive
experience with solar products. We
spend much less time educating
customers about the benefits of solar
in areas where they have worked, as
they have already built trust in solar
technology and there are much higher
levels of demand.”
Erica Mackey, COO, Off-Grid Electric
Typical feedback: “Sunny Money helped catalyze solar
markets in Kenya and Tanzania, starting
with getting lights into schools and
expanding beyond that. The field needs
organizations like Sunny Money to use
grant funding to enter frontier markets
and help jumpstart adoption of solar.”
Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO, Acumen Fund,
“Enabling pioneers such as SolarAid and
Sunnymoney to do their ground-breaking
'grassroots' work is key, and perhaps the
only way to ultimately reach universal
energy access and a sustainable off-grid
electrification market.”
Koen Peters, Executive Director of the
Global Off-Grid Lighting Association
(the solar light industry’s trade body)

123. Total market penetration
solar lighting vs kerosene
Where we are working
1 – 10%
Where we have succeeded
> 10%
Rest of Sub – Saharan Africa
Less than 3%

124. >100 companies are now active globally on stand-
alone solar lanterns and solar home systems
7th Jan
2016
3rd Mar
2016
They have sold c. 20 million products collectively to date, mostly
portable lights, reaching 89 m people. SolarAid has sold 9% of these.
Source: BNEF, Lighting Global, Dahlberg

125. 7th Jan
2016
7th Mar
2016
Exit from Tanzania: SunnyMoney brand, customer
list and stock handed on to Arti Energy
Our team sold over 900,000 solar lights, 12% of all quality solar products
sold across Africa, reaching 13% of Tanzania’s off-grid population

126. SunnyMoney sells 173,366 solar lights in the
2015-16 FY ….only 27% of the 624,468 in 2014-15
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2016
As we withdraw from Tanzania and Kenya, there is no sign of us
reaching the same scale in Zambia, Malawi and Uganda.

127. SolarAid raises £1.25 million of donated funds in
FY 2015-16, down 50% on the record £2.5m 2014-15
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2016
Individuals are the biggest donor sector: £329k Non High Net Worth,
£313k HNW. Outreach to corporations and foundations is not working as
hoped. We have cut loan balances down to £223k (£438k Mar 2015).

128. Oli Sylvester-Bradley, former Solarcentury
marketing manager, joins SolarAid in the same role
7th Jan
2016
2016
He will stay with us through to summer 2018, providing vital marketing
support for our fundraising and outreach at a crucial time.

129. 7th Jan
2016
April
2016
Keap Candles, a New York company pledging
25% of profits to SolarAid, makes its first donation
Founder Harry Doull
(right) has such a
passion for our project
that he sets up a US
non-profit to channel
US donations to the
charity.
SolarAid USA is set up in
September 2017.

130. SunnyMoney ceases direct market operations
in Kenya
7th Jan
2016
May
2016
CEO Caesar Mwangi moves on to try and set up a for-profit solar light
retailer. Friends of SolarAid provide his start-up capital.

131. x.
x
7th Jan
2016
x7th Jan
2016
Aug
2016
The Solarcentury runners-for-SolarAid team enters
the Tough Mudder half marathon

132. x.
x
7th Jan
2016
x

133. SM100 - Research-th ---
2016
Solarcentury growth2nd Mar
2016
2nd Mar
2016
xWe decide we need our own (lowest cost) product
and find the perfect partner to help us do it….
2015 to
2016
….Namene Solar Light Company (at the time a team within Yingli)
• Product design based on >30,000 consumer research interactions
• 2 years in design and prototype, from >300 original design drawings
• Rigorous prototype testing with Fraunhofer Institute

134. 7th Jan
2016
4th Oct
2016
Launch of own product, co-developed with Namene
Solar Light Company, on SolarAid’s 10th anniversary
o 18 lumen
o 6 hrs run time
o Water-resistant
o Reliable
o Durable
SM100 Solar Light:
One of the most affordable entry-level
quality solar lights

135. Average savings: $70 per year
1 tonne of carbon dioxide

136. 7th Jan
2016
4th Oct
2016
SolarAid holds 10th birthday party at the
Bulgari Hotel in London

137. 137
7th Jan
2016
Aug - Sep
2016
Proof of value proposition for SM100 Solar Light:
9,000 unit Sales Field Trial in Africa

139. 7th Jan
2016
2016 to
present
Can we make the SM100 Solar Light a commercial
success ….in current and new African countries?
…it isn’t always easy in the field

140. 7th Jan
2016
13th Feb
2017
Joseph Karanaja’s Solar For Peace Initiative in Kenya
now has 3,000 members from nearly 900 families
By June 2018 SPI is active in 44 of Kenya’s 47 counties with over 7,000
members and 22,000 solar lights sold
Joseph Karanja,
founder Carolyne Wanjiku and her mother Anne

141. SunnyMoney sells just 73k solar lights in the
2016-17 FY ….only 42% of the 173k in 2015-16
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2017
We are struggling in all three countries of operation. But then so are
many more solar light companies, despite all the capital flowing in….
© Namene Solar Light Company

142. 7th Jan
2016
22nd Jan
2018
Global solar lighting sales actually fell in 2017
…despite $600m “impact” investment 2016 & 2017
Source:
Global Off
Grid
Lighting
Association

143. 7th Jan
2016
23rd Oct
2017
Solar lighting: only 30 million sold, anywhere, ever,
in a world of 1.1 billion without electricity….
Source: GOGLA / Lighting Africa
30.7 m
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 H1 2017
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
million
…as reported by 65 GOGLA members
Non branded products approximately double the total
120k

144. Data include only quality-verified pico-solar (<11 W) and solar home
system products, c. 30% of all. Other 70% are generic products.
Global solar lighting sales have essentially stalled
since 2015 …despite a steep rise in investment
7th Jan
2016
26th Apr
2018
0
1
2
3
4
5
H2
2010
H1
2011
H2
2011
H1
2012
H2
2012
H1
2013
H2
2013
H1
2014
H2
2014
H1
2015
H2
2015
H1
2016
H2
2016
H1
2017
H2
2017
million
Data source: GOGLA / Lighting Global
<35 million solar light sales in all
> $600 m$207m$75 m$18 m$21 mInvestment:

145. Uganda office closed, with great sadness, in order
to focus resources on Zambia and Malawi
7th Jan
2016
2017
Ramulat Andiru continues to sell solar lights, and service existing
SunnyMoney customers, in her own right.

146. SA raises £881k of donated funds in
FY 2016-17, with individuals still the biggest donors
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2017
Though our fundraising is down on the £1.25m in 2015-16, our
restructuring has meant that our debts are essentially cleared now.

147. Phase 5 of 5:
New Quest
2017 - present
Post-crisis, how to find our way to a second
exponential impact ….in a very different
world to the one we started in

148. 7th Jan
2016
26th April
2017 SM100 receives Lighting Global approval

149. 7th Jan
2016
6th June
2017
The Grade 4 class at West Bay Elementary,
Vancouver raises £600 for SolarAid
There are so many heart warming efforts like this. The support of
ordinary people is turning into the bedrock of the charity.

150. Solarcentury’s Solar Rollers ride
for SolarAid at the Dragon Ride
7th Jan
2016
June
2017

151. 7th Jan
2016
3rd July
2017
Total sells its 2 millionth solar light, having taken
the lead from SunnyMoney in Africa during 2017
90% of the sales have been Africa, via 4,000 filling stations.
The oil and gas giant’s next goal is 5 million by 2020.

152. 7th Jan
2016
2017
SunnyMoney partners with Malawi’s largest
Financial co-operative, FinCoop
National Sales Coordinator Brave Mhonie with Fincoop’s
General Manager, McMillan Nankhonya.
This we hope
will lift our
Pay-As-You-
Go sales by
giving our
agents access
to credit

153. 7th Jan
2016
3rd July
2017
SM100 and designers Future Product (formerly
Inventid) and NSLC featured by the BBC and FT
But sales are going slowly. Low quality products - short-lived but
cheaper - are increasingly proving to be a problem for sales teams.

154. Malawi sales team meeting

155. 7th Jan
2016
7th July
2017
SolarAid’s retail brand SunnyMoney wins
BITC – Unilever Global Development Award

156. 7th Jan
2016
1st Sep
2017
John Keane returns to SolarAid and SunnyMoney as
CEO after working for our trade association GOGLA
He replaces Jeremy Leggett, who has been Acting CEO
as well as Chair for more than a year.

157. “Universal energy access by 2030 now within reach
thanks to growing political will and falling costs”
7th Jan
2016
19th Oct
2017
IEA Energy Access Outlook 2017
Africa imagined at night, 2030
Population without
electricity has fallen
to <1.1 bn

158. 1,060 million people still have no electricity access
in 2016 …588 million (48%) in Africa
7th Jan
2016
19th Oct
2017
Africa at night, 2030IEA Energy Access Outlook 2017
IEA Energy Access
Outlook 2017

159. Electricity for all 2017 – 2030 requires investment
of $725bn, $52bn per year: IEA
7th Jan
2016
19th Oct
2017
Africa at night, 2030
Investment
Providing for the 674m people that the New
Policies Scenario doesn’t (601m, 90%, in SSA)
$391 bn
IEA Energy Access Outlook 2017

160. 7th Jan
2016
2018
A new board of trustees, and advisory board,
for a new year, and renewed effort
John was legal counsel at Solarcentury for 17 years, and is now an legal
consultant. Mirjana, an auditor, is head of finance at Carbon Tracker.
BOARDOFTRUSTEES
ADVISORYBOARD
Jeremy Leggett John Faulks Mirjana Skrba
Charlotte Grimshaw Aki Maruyama-Leggett Jeunesse Park Glenda Vergeer

161. 7th Jan
2016
1st Jan
2018
Steve Phillips embarks on a quite unique SolarAid
fundraising project
Every day in 2018, he will play a different song on his Ukulele and post
the recording on YouTube. 1st Jan: “After Hours” by Velvet Underground.

162. SunnyMoney sells 112k solar lights in the
2017-18 FY ….53% up on 73k in 2016-17
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2018
We are on an upward trend again, but we are not close to catalyzing
the markets in Zambia or Malawi.

163. SolarAid raises £0.72 million of donated funds in
FY 2017-18
7th Jan
2016
31st Mar
2018
Since started in 2007 we have leveraged £35k from Solarcentury into
£17.2 million of philanthropic funding for SolarAid.

164. 7th Jan
2016
1st Nov
2018
Off grid solar lighting sales fell again in 2018 H1
….no sign of the growth needed to hit SDG 7
A billion people remain without electricity. Yet existing light sales mean
c. $3.5bn additional income for households over lifetime of products.
million
4
33
1
2
12%
down

165. 7th Jan
2016
1st Nov
2018
Solar home systems were only 11% of total
2018 H1 solar lighting unit sales, but….
….All 4 types of SHS grew, between 15% & 200% (>100 Wp) due to PAYG.
For all solar lighting, PAYG value ($110m) exceeds cash value ($107m).
GOGLA members data for c. 30% of global market <11Wp …..& c. 60-80% <11Wp
Total
0 - 1.5
Wp
1.5 - 3
Wp
3 - 10
Wp
11 - 20
Wp
21 - 49
Wp
50 - 100
Wp
>100
Wp
26 MW
2.7 m
solar
lanterns
$76 m
value
561 k
multi-light
systems
$40 m value
395 k
solar
home
systems
$102 m
value
20%
Total
Cash
PAYG

166. 7th Jan
2016
1st Nov
2018
Potential is clear in impact estimates for all off-grid
solar lighting products sold to date (as of June 2018)
Figures are conservative: based on constantly-updated GOGLA industry
standards, including only quality-verified products.
people with currently living in a
household with improved energy access
due to solar lighting products
people undertaking more economic
activity due to solar lighting access
metric tons of CO2 emissions avoided,
over products’ lifetimes
additional income unlocked over the
products’ lifetimes
savings on energy expenditure by
households switching to solar lanterns or
multi-light systems, over products’ lifetime
extra hours of light created for families
over products’ lifetimes

167. 7th Jan
2016
2nd Nov
2018
Access to electricity is growing rapidly
around the world ….except in Africa
New IEA figures show the number without electricity has fallen
below 1 billion, but in Africa it remains around 600 million:
deployment is not keeping up with population growth.

168. Alongside continuing solar light sales, we develop a
new strategy for access to light by the poorest
7th Jan
2016
May
2018
We raise dedicated funds to begin a pilot innovations project in Malawi,
with an appeal to our core supporters and the general public.
A solar charging hub designed to serve low income villagers. Customers pay to
recharge centrally owned and maintained batteries, which light their homes

169. SolarAid lights distributed in a refugee settlement
by Syria Relief
7th Jan
2016
Jun
2018
Funding from Next Energy Capital and long-term SolarAid supporter
Keith Neal, a retired schoolteacher from Manchester.

170. SolarAid Zambia revisits a hospital we solarised in
2010 ….and find the medicine is still solar-chilled
7th Jan
2016
Aug
2018
The solar powered fridge at St Luke’s Hospital, which treats 25,000 -
40,000 patients a year. Think of the lives saved by this one installation!
Sister Valeria

171. 7th Jan
2016
10th Sep
2018
John Keane moves to Lusaka, with his family,
to lead Africa operations from the field

172. 7th Jan
2016
12th Sep
2018
SolarAid partners with Elle Solaire to help women
entrepreneurs in Senegal
This partnership means we can further our mission in Senegal, which
began with our Light Libraries experiment in 2014.
ElleSolaire- one of
the first women-
led clean energy
distribution
networks in
Senegal- recruits
local women from
remote villages
and provides them
with training and
support in sales,
marketing and
financial
management.

173. 7th Jan
2016
3rd Dec
2018
Our manufacturing partner Namene Solar Light
Company launches an improved SM100
Increase from 18 to 30 lumens for 4+ hrs, second light setting for 10
lumens for 10+ hrs, 2 year warranty, plug & play for easier repair and
recycling…no increase in prices. “More Light For Your Money.”

174. 7th Jan
2016
3rd Dec
2018
Namene Solar Light Company has a highly
experienced team dedicated to SDG7
Managing Director Darren Thompson’s passion for SolarAid dates back
to a strategy discussion dinner we held in 2011.
Darren Thompson, Managing Director
Massimo Lisanti, Technical Director
Carolin Stähler, Communications Director
Denis Daumal,
Head of Corporate Carbon Strategy

175. 7th Jan
2016
16th Nov
2018
It wouldn’t, if you do the accounting properly: drop kerosene subsidies,
count savings on kerosene and healthcare savings, price carbon, etc etc
How much would it cost to deploy an SM100 so that
everyone had access to clean, affordable light?

176. Can this new light, new models &
new partnerships, help us achieve
the SDGs & create a world where:
No school, No clinic,
No one, is left in the dark?

177. Our quest continues….
Please follow our continuing effort to
play a major role in achieving
Sustainable Development Goal 7
(and other SDGs) on
www.solar-aid.org