For many women running businesses in Nigeria’s agri-food sector, reliable electricity is not a convenience. It is essential to keeping their businesses running.

A power outage can mean a freezer stops working, food spoils, sales are lost, and business owners spend more money trying to keep their operations going with petrol or diesel generators.

For businesses that depend on refrigeration and cold storage, access to reliable power can directly affect how much they can preserve, sell and earn.

This is why access to clean, dependable energy matters.

Through the Energising Women and Youth in Agri-Food Systems (EWAS) programme, SunFi is helping women entrepreneurs in Lagos access solar energy solutions designed around the realities of their businesses.

What Is EWAS?

The Energising Women and Youth in Agri-Food Systems (EWAS) is a three-year programme designed to expand access to clean energy and support women and young people working across the agri-food sector in Nigeria and Ethiopia.

The programme is led by Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and supported by the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, bringing together clean energy, technology, training and financing to help agri-food businesses become more productive and resilient.

The programme aims to enable 17,000 jobs, particularly for young women, while helping businesses adopt productive-use energy solutions that can support their growth.

As a partner on the programme, we are supporting the delivery of clean energy solutions to women entrepreneurs in Lagos whose businesses depend on reliable electricity, particularly those working with refrigerated and frozen food.

And our role goes beyond simply providing solar systems.

Designing Solar Solutions for EWAS Beneficiaries

One of the ways SunFi is contributing to EWAS is by developing solar solutions specifically for the needs of participating businesses.

Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, the solution is designed to demand and refrigeration needs of the participant as they receive what we have called an Aisha Mega Package.

Aisha Mega

A 3kVA solar system with a 2.56kWh battery, 2.36kWp of solar panels and a 200L energy-efficient freezer, designed for businesses with higher energy and cold-storage requirements.

This package was designed specifically for the EWAS programme, reflecting the different ways participating businesses use energy.

For SunFi, the goal is not simply to put a solar system on a roof. It is about matching the energy solution to the business.

Why Better Power Matters for Agri-Food Businesses

For a woman selling frozen food, fish, meat or other temperature-sensitive products, electricity is directly connected to her ability to protect her inventory and serve her customers.

When power is unreliable, business owners may have to rely heavily on generators, spend more on fuel or risk losing products when refrigeration fails.

Reliable solar power can help reduce some of these pressures.

It can help businesses keep essential refrigeration running, reduce dependence on fuel-powered generators and create more consistency in their day-to-day operations.

And that consistency matters.

When a business owner spends less time worrying about whether her freezer will stay on, she has more room to focus on her customers, her products and growing her business.

Who Are the EWAS Solutions For?

The EWAS programme is designed to support eligible women entrepreneurs working in the agri-food sector.

Based on the programme requirements, eligible participants generally need to:

• Be women aged 35 or below.
• Operate an eligible agri-food business.
• Buy, sell, store or handle refrigerated or frozen food.
• Have a verifiable business location.
• Have a valid BVN.
• Be actively operating an income-generating business.

Payment options may include daily, weekly or monthly structures, subject to the applicable EWAS programme terms.

Powering Women. Supporting Businesses.

For SunFi, our work with EWAS is about more than providing access to solar technology.

It is about understanding the realities of the businesses we serve and creating energy solutions that can help address those realities.

The women participating in the programme are not simply energy consumers. They are business owners, food sellers, processors and entrepreneurs contributing to the agri-food economy.

By giving them access to more reliable power, we can help create the conditions for their businesses to operate more consistently and, ultimately, create opportunities for growth.

Because better power should do more than keep the lights on. It should help businesses keep moving.

That is what SunFi is proud to contribute to through EWAS.

Interested in the EWAS Programme?

If you are a woman entrepreneur in Lagos running an eligible agri-food business and would like to learn more about the solar solutions available through EWAS, contact us to find out if you qualify.

Call 02018871099 or reach us on WhatsApp to get started.