Feature Story: In Nigeria and Yemen, Power Beyond the Grid Creates Jobs for Women

On the factory floor in Calabar, a port city in southern Nigeria, rows of solar home systems move steadily along an assembly line staffed largely by young women. For many, it is their first job and a first step toward financial independence. At the center of this quiet transformation is Sandra Chukwudozie, founder and CEO of Salpha Energy.  

Seven years ago, with support from the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), Sandra catalyzed the operational capacity and growth of the Salpha Solar Assembly Plant with a dual ambition: to deliver reliable electricity to households locked out of the grid and create employment opportunities for young Nigerians, especially women.  

Her vision captures a shift underway: in countries like Nigeria, off-grid solar is often the least-cost solution to provide rapid electrification. The innovative technology has grown beyond powering just phones and lights. It can run fridges, hairdryers, and other appliances, enabling the creation of small businesses and jobs. 

Sandra has expanded her factory and hired additional staff. Women who began as entry-level assemblers are now certified installers and frontline sales agents, earning stable incomes while helping electrify their communities. “I envision a future where anyone, especially women, can be leaders in the energy space,” Sandra says. “We aim to shift the narrative of Africa from being mere consumers to becoming producers.” 

In Nigeria’s off-grid communities, distributed renewable energy — such as mini-grids and solar home systems — has helped electrify more than 11,000 women-owned enterprises, enabling women to shift from subsistence work to profitable businesses.

Rashida’s Rice Enterprise: From Survival to a Thriving Business For Rashida Abubakar, rice farming began as childhood labor in the fields. As an adult, she managed multiple farms but struggled with high fuel costs and slow, inefficient processing. With access to off-grid solar for milling, grinding time dropped sharply; costly fuel expenses disappeared; and rice quality improved. What was once a hand-to-mouth operation became an expanding business. “Before, I could only process small quantities, and profits were uncertain,” Rashida says. “Now I can handle up to 100 bags at once. Solar power turned survival into expansion.”

In Yemen, where conflict has devastated infrastructure, off-grid solar is often the only viable and cheapest source of power, helping restore basic services and enabling women-led businesses. 

Through the Yemen Emergency Electricity Access Project (YEEAP), the World Bank Group has partnered with local microfinance institutions and solar equipment suppliers and distributors to de-risk the sale of off-grid solar home systems to vulnerable Yemenis in rural and outlying urban areas.  

The project enabled women to access formal finance and start businesses—such as small cafeterias powered by pico-solar systems (small, often portable photovoltaic systems) and energy-efficient appliances—boosting their incomes while advancing financial inclusion. About 15 percent of beneficiaries opened their first-ever bank account, compared to just 5 percent of women nationally with accounts. 

Eman’s Solar-Powered Cafeteria  Even small systems can unlock entrepreneurship when paired with financing and training.  For Eman, off-grid solar means independence. With a pico-solar system and a subsidized refrigerator, she opened a small cafeteria—an enterprise that would have been impossible without reliable electricity.  “With the project’s funded pico system and a subsidized refrigerator, I started my own cafeteria,” she says. “It is now making an income, and I can support my entire family.”

From Momentum to Transformation 

The stories of Sandra, Rashida, and Eman illustrate how innovative solutions tailored to the country context can expand electricity access, unlocking jobs and opportunities for new entrepreneurs. 

The World Bank Group and its partners are committed to sustaining that momentum. ESMAP works closely with donor partners like Canada to improve women’s access to electricity so that they can expand their economic opportunities and take on, and leadership roles in the energy sector. 

“Electricity does more than power homes—it powers ambition. Canada is committed to energy investments that connect women not only to light, but to skills, jobs, and leadership across the energy value chain. That is how access becomes opportunity, and opportunity becomes lasting economic growth.”  – The Honourable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature