Women’s Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Energy | Driving Women’s Access, Leadership and Influence in Clean Energy Technology in India

Women’s Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Energy programme aims to mitigate the barriers Indian women face as entrepreneurs and consumers of clean energy, by partnering with producers, stakeholders and distributors in energy value chains.  Since 2017, UN Women has undertaken various efforts to provide clean energy through this programme. One such process was partnering with S4S Technologies and implementing the Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship through Solar Drying project. The project created a cadre of 60 women entrepreneurs embedded in the dried and processed food value chain through effectively leveraging clean technology and access to niche market through buy back of dried products. A total of 60 solar dryers were installed in both states combined (30 each) and 60 women received training. As a result of the training, technology and market support provided, the average daily income for each of the 60 women has increased threefold, from INR 100 per day to INR 300 per day, a 300% increase.

UN Women also trained 185 women to access and manage solar rooftop systems, thereby enhancing their skills, leadership and access to renewable energy. This in turn increased family nutrition security due to the women’s improved access to better income and dehydrated food products for annual consumption. Finally, UN Women sought to integrate gender perspectives in clean energy policies by joining the task force created by Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam (Department of Renewable Energies) on renewable energy-based cooking solutions. UN Women provided recommendations on integrating women’s energy needs in the design and upgrading of clean energy products.