#smallsolutions

[somewh3re4thesethoughts]

Welcome to my thoughts, rants, and anything else. Therapy is an option that I don't have right now. However, I need a space to write these down. I turn 26 in February, and I'm currently unemployed and passive unalivent myself. So this is my way of helping myself. You do not have to interact. This is mainly for myself.

[womanonfire-1]

#MondayswithMarthie 🦋I want to help you find your purpose and run with it!🦋 #SWOT #SmallSolutions #AskAndListen -Follow Link- Please Like & Subscribe to my YouTube channel :) https://goo.gl/qF4zpW (at Marthie- Inspirational Speaker)

[sunfunder]

6 Projects Are Now Fully Repaid

Another month, another project fully repaid. That seems to be the trend at SunFunder these days! 

Last month our partner smallsolutions made the final repayment for their first project with SunFunder, Solar for 600 families. The project benefited homes in the West Nile region of Uganda with 600 units of Sun King Pro and Sun King Solo solar lights. 86 people invested a total of $10,000 in this project. We are grateful for their support, and also for our relationship with smallsolutions.

This event is no small feat. Another project becoming fully repaid means our default rate remains at 0%. And because 99% of SunFunder's investors revolve their repaid funds into other projects, this means we all are able to put our money into work again and again for clean and sustainable energy access.

With every project that gets fully repaid, the SunFunder community is proving out several critical points:

Solar energy is economically viable for low-income communities living without electricity. In fact, it is so viable that off-grid solar companies are profiting enough to pay back their loans while continuing to scale up to meet solar’s rising demand. And this is true for multiple regions!

Crowdfunding is catalytic. If not banks, who will help the off-grid solar companies build the necessary track record and credit history to become bankable? The answer is you. Your collective loans give them the opportunity to prove out their business models, and with the traction they’re making through paying back your investments, SunFunder can confidently approach private accredited and institutional investors to complement crowd investments. 

Off-grid solar is bankable. The track record and traction that off-grid solar companies gains with SunFunder provides evidence to large financial institutions that these companies are not as risky as previously perceived and are in fact bankable. As the International Energy Agency has stated, the world needs nearly $1 trillion in cumulative investment to achieve universal energy access by 2030. The more we can leverage crowdfunding and other innovative, community-backed approaches to prove that the off-grid solar sector is worth the investment for big international financial institutions like the World Bank, the better off the 1.3 billion unelectrified population will be in the coming years

Every dollar that you invest in solar is effectively worth significantly more in the long run because of what it enables. We are grateful for your support, and we look forward to unlocking more capital for emerging market solar with your help.

[sunfunder]

Rent-to-Own a Solar Light 100% Funded

Thanks to the 209 funders for getting our second project with smallsolutions fully funded. This is the first time a project garners the support of more than 200 people, and we're happy that more and more people around the world are coming together to deliver solar energy to off-grid communities. 

The project will deliver solar lighting and mobile phone charging with the Sun King Pro to 5,400 people in Uganda. You can learn more about its innovative rental distribution approach on the project page. We did the math: on average, this project benefits 25 people with clean and affordable solar energy per one crowdfunder. That's pretty impressive, and we are grateful the generosity of our community. The $20,000 loan to our partner on the ground, smallsolutions, will get disbursed later this month.

We have other exciting news coming up for you. This is a busy month for us as we try to wrap our year in a big way. Stay tuned!

[sunfunder]

Making Solar Energy Even Cheaper: Rent-to-Own

By Cindy Nawilis, community and operations lead

It's an understatement to say that we're continually impressed by the work of our solar partners. Wowed might be a better word. For example, just check out SunnyMoney's latest Impact Report—If you didn't catch it last week, I highly recommend it. It's a worthwhile read even if you have not invested in any of SunnyMoney's projects.

We didn't think it was possible, but we're also wowed by more than just the impact our partners are making. They never fail to surprise us with smarter and more innovative approaches to making solar energy more accessible and more affordable for the 1.3 billion people that live without access to electricity. This week, we want to highlight one of those innovative approaches that our solar partner smallsolutions is rolling out in Uganda: the rent-to-own model.

The rent-to-own model makes owning a Sun King Pro solar light and phone charger easier than it has ever been. As a customer, all you have to remember is two things. First, charge your solar light at the charging station that's set up in your village whenever your battery runs out. Second, remember to pay your rental fee every week, which is equivalent to $1.40 and is cheaper than what you have been paying all along for kerosene for your wick lamp. After a year of paying the weekly rental fee, you own the panel for your Sun King Pro so you no longer have to pay the weekly fee or charge at the charging station. 

As smallsolutions, this model allows for more effective customer support and payment collection. By setting up a charging station in the village and hiring a station manager to look after it, smallsolutions can build trust with their customers because the station manager is present in the community. By being part of the community, station managers can also identify faulty products and replace them under the warranty more quickly. They can also help customers with quick product fixes that don't require entire replacements. Lastly, payment is more convenient for customers to make because they can do it while they're charging their lights. This means less late payments and less defaults, a win-win for everyone!

But by the nature of the model, smallsolutions needs working capital upfront to provide its customers a product which they eventually will pay for after a year's time. This is where people like us can help. By investing as little as $10 in smallsolutions' latest project, we can ensure that smallsolutions will have enough products to offer as credit for customers who can only afford solar lights by renting them. I've made my investment, so go on over to the Rent-to-Own a Solar Light project and invest as much as you like!