WICA Magazine

In an inspiring conversation, Mariama Kamara, Founder of Smiling Through Light, shared her journey from childhood in Sierra Leone to her mission of providing clean energy access to her homeland. With a focus on empowering women, her organization is lighting up homes and lives, changing the narrative of Sierra Leone, and advancing clean energy in the region. In this article, we talk about women empowerment, advancing clean energy and changing narratives in Sierra Leone.

“Growing up in Sierra Leone was amazing and I have many beautiful childhood memories which I will always cherish,” explains Mariama Kamara, Founder of Smiling Through Light. That was before March 1991, when a brutal civil war broke out in this beautiful country on the West Coast of Africa. Mariama was nine when she was forced to move from Freetown, in Sierra Leone, to the United Kingdom. “Moving to London was a big challenge for me; apart from the cold weather, I experienced a lot of racism at primary school and during my early years and found it difficult to adjust,” she explains.

Today, Mariama put all her energy into her organization. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and in this conversation, we talk about Sierra Leone’s main challenges, the injustice she experienced as a black woman in business, Africa’s difficult access to finance, and how women are a very important part of the solution to bring clean energy to all.

Smiling Through Light: How it all started

Mariama’s background is in International Development. She holds an MSc in Development Studies and a BSc (Hons) in Psychology. The idea for Smiling Through Light was born during a trip to Sierra Leone in 2011 when she was working as an SRH Curriculum Development Technical Assistant for Restless Development. During this trip, she witnessed communities relying on kerosene and candles for lighting. Mariama recalls visiting a slum community in Freetown, where the majority had no access to electricity and relied on dangerous lighting solutions. She thought, “This is wrong. We are living in the 21st century; there must be safer, cleaner, and more reliable lighting options.”

Having experienced the challenges of studying with kerosene lamps herself as a young girl in Sierra Leone, Mariama deeply understands the importance of energy access. She emphasizes that clean energy access is not just about providing light but also about creating income, prosperity, and sustainability. Clean energy access can truly change lives.

The hazards of using kerosene are well-known in Sierra Leone. Inhaling fumes from kerosene lamps can lead to various health issues. Mariama has actively campaigned to raise awareness about these dangers and the benefits of clean energy alternatives. Over 95% of the women she spoke to during focus group discussions in Sierra Leone reported no longer using kerosene lamps.

The challenges of electrifying Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, despite its abundance of natural resources, faces various challenges. Poverty, a weak health system, maternal mortality, low literacy rates, environmental degradation, and low access to electricity are among the nation’s ongoing issues.

The state of the grid infrastructure in Sierra Leone is dire, with only 13% of the population having access to electricity, primarily in urban areas. Rural electrification is as low as 1%, forcing people to rely on petrol or diesel generators, kerosene, battery lamps, and candles. The challenges are tied to outdated networks, substandard materials, old electrical equipment, high voltage, and the slow development of renewable energy sources.

This is where Smiling Through Light comes in. The organisation aims to bring clean, reliable, and sustainable energy to Sierra Leone by selling solar products. Mariama and her team collaborate with a network of women, establishing distribution networks and supporting small, female-run businesses. This approach not only provides communities with clean lighting technology but also creates employment and income opportunities. The company’s profits are reinvested in the social enterprise to buy more solar products, provide capacity-building training, and offer ongoing support to the women. Smiling Through Light works in partnership with the UN Sustainable Energy for All People-Centered Accelerator Programme, which aims to enhance clean energy access for the poorest people.

Mariama has actively advocated for clean energy access in Sierra Leone. She mentions that initially, the government showed little interest in the use of solar products, but over time, with lobbying and joint efforts from organizations like Power for All, progress has been made. The government signed the first Energy Africa/DFID compact agreement, taking significant steps toward eradicating energy poverty in the country.

Empowering women and communities

Mariama is passionate about changing the narrative surrounding Sierra Leone. She believes that too often, negative stereotypes and a single story have overshadowed the positive aspects of the country and the continent as a whole. She has started initiatives like Beam Talks, which aim to inspire young women by highlighting different job sectors among Sierra Leoneans in the UK, challenging the one-dimensional portrayal of the nation.

She says: “This is very important for me. The story about Sierra Leone and Africa in general has always been told by others with negative narratives, always forgetting the positives. We have challenges but we also have positive and inspirational stories to share. During TED Talks, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie spoke about ‘The Danger of a Single Story’ as it creates stereotypes and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story. With the telling of that single story, about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. Through all my different initiatives I found my own authentic and cultural voice. In July 2016, I set up Beam Talks; quarterly events which change the narratives about Sierra Leone. Beam Talks is Smiling Through Light’s UK initiative which aims to inspire young women by highlighting different job sectors amongst Sierra Leoneans in the UK. The event provides a space where role models can discuss their achievements, experiences and challenges with a new generation of change-makers.”

Convincing women and girls in Sierra Leone to embrace solar products has been a challenge, but Smiling Through Light has shown them the benefits, which has increased enthusiasm. The incentives for using clean, reliable, and affordable products include cost savings, time savings, reduced energy bills, better health, improved grades for students, extended business hours, enhanced security, access to diverse products, low maintenance costs, warranties, and the support of a community network of women.

She says: “What I enjoy the most is empowering women entrepreneurs in rural areas to bring light to their communities and creating access to life changing clean energy technologies whilst simultaneously creating employment and income opportunities. The smile on people’s faces when they switch on a solar lamp makes everything meaningful and worthwhile. It is the stories of the entrepreneurs, customers and communities that bring to life why we do what we do.”

Overcoming Challenges

Mariama’s biggest challenges have included accessing finance and securing working capital. She initially funded Smiling Through Light with support from family and friends, along with an initial grant from PwC. Securing financing for scaling up operations has been a significant challenge.

She explains: “There are so many inequalities in international finance in unlocking rapid growth for the distributed energy clean energy sector. Put simply most donors or investors will not support black-owned businesses. There is a misconception that their funds will not be managed properly, systems are not in place and the single narrative of corruption continues. We have to look at the data and which companies are receiving funding. Most of the financing going to Africa is debt financing and more loans. Early-stage companies are on a mission to make changes, especially in how the world uses energy and everyone should be supported. Businesses should all have equal opportunities especially if they have excellent business models, team, relevant structures, policies and sustainability.”

Mariama Kamara’s journey with Smiling Through Light is a testament to her unwavering commitment to changing lives and narratives in Sierra Leone, one solar lamp at a time.

An article by Anne-Sophie Garrigou.