Aust energy initiative empowers women in India and Nepal

Australian energy retailer Flow Power has partnered with Pollinate Group, a global social enterprise that empowers women micro-entrepreneurs in India and Nepal.

Pollinate was founded in 2012 by six young Australians wanting to address poverty and improve access to safe renewable energy in India, where they saw marginal communities using toxic fuels such as kerosene. Their concept eventually evolved to focus on women as the agents of change.

“We are excited to partner with Flow Power to make a deep and lasting impact on these under-served communities by helping them generate income sustainably,” said Sujatha Ramani, CEO of Pollinate Group.

“The program will minimise their usage of biomass, coal and harmful fuels such as kerosene, replacing them with solar products.”

With Flow Power’s backing, Pollinate will train and provide support to women from marginalised communities to distribute products such as solar lights and fans, water filters, clean cooking stoves and sanitary products, resulting in cleaner, safer and healthier communities.

Flow Power is funding the provision of solar lights for 2000 households in India and Nepal, with the goal of supporting 11,200 people to access clean and reliable electricity, reducing CO₂ emissions by 10,468 tonnes and fuel costs by more than $190,000.

“We are thrilled to partner with Pollinate Group and support their work providing access to safe and sustainable energy solutions to underprivileged communities,” said Declan Kelly, Regulatory Policy and Corporate Affairs Manager at Flow Power. “We’re passionate about the opportunities clean energy creates, and this partnership with Pollinate offers those opportunities to communities where clean energy can lift people out of poverty and improve their health outcomes.”

Pollinate has set an ambitious goal of distributing 1.5 million solar products by the end of 2025, empowering 10,000 women and improving the lives of 10 million people across India and Nepal. The products, distributed by the micro-entrepreneurs, or “Suryamukhi”, have to date helped communities save more than $31 million and reduced 1,540,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

The Suryamukhi, meaning “sunflowers” in Hindi, are a diverse group of women aged 18–54 from various regions across India and Nepal.

Images courtesy of Pollinate Group.