SUM: The Solar United Madagascar consortium 

More than 70 per cent of Malagasy children live in poverty, which threatens their health and education. As part of our response to this unjust and unjustifiable situation, Money for Madagascar has been working with three other Madagascar-focused organisations since 2022, as the Solar United Madagascar consortium (SUM). We operate together, with seed funding from The Aeonian Foundation, to provide affordable solar energy to improve Malagsy education and power the country’s development.

 

Who we are  

The Solar United Madagascar consortium is a joint programme run by the registered NGOs Money For Madagascar, Feedback Madagascar and SEED, in partnership with the solar technicians of the Madagascar social enterprise, Jiro-Ve.

We launch Light Libraries, test solar cooking innovations, and develop solar-powered digital learning technologies and materials.

The vision and investment of the Aeonian Foundation in the first and second pilots enabled accelerated learning and the development and improvement of an effective model. Additional partners have supported the initiative, and impact investors are invited to join us in making a difference. 

What SUM does 

SUM delivers solar energy and skills to Malagasy communities, focusing on improving students’ educational outcomes (SDG 4 Quality Education) by providing off-grid energy access in rural, hard-to-reach areas. 

Solar panels in schools support daytime digital learning, and power banks that are rented overnight at affordable prices. Community members can replace harmful and/or expensive charcoal, candles, and kerosene with solar power to light their homes, transforming study and family life. Franchises and families access new ways to earn, and local communities own and manage the infrastructure. 

During one community consultation on implementing Light Libraries in Madagascar, we discovered 90 per cent of the locals had zero access to electricity, and were forced instead to rely on paraffin lamps and candles.

SUM is many Malagasy communities’ first experience with solar lighting, which transforms their daily lives. Now, work, school activities, and cooking can proceed without interruption or hazard, while parent-teacher and other meetings can extend after dark, thanks to the new availability of light. 

In 2022, the consortium’s first year, SUM used the Aeonian Foundation’s funding to provide: 

• 24 Light Libraries, focused on improving educational outcomes 

• One solar cooker for a school feeding programme 

• Solar-powered Raspberry Pi computers, tablets and projectors, providing access to digital learning 

Why SUM is needed 

• Madagascar is one of the world’s poorest countries, ranking 173 out of 191 on the Human Development Index  

• Only a third of the Malagasy population (33.7 per cent) has access to electricity, even fewer in rural regions, where just 10.9 per cent have access 

• Rural households in all regions of Madagascar typically use carbon fuels, most commonly kerosene lamps and paraffin candles, for lighting. Some have battery-powered torches, but only very few have solar home systems, almost all of which are small, often low-quality

• Despite significant international development support in the renewable energy sector, even programmes such as the World Bank’s Off-Grid Market Development Fund (OMDF)1 provided subsidised solar technology only to companies operating in easy-to-access areas with higher than average population density and economic activity – remote communities received little to no assistance or benefit 

• The high logistical costs of reaching poorer regions with lower populations remains a massive hindrance to market penetration 

Humanity is far from universal access to electricity and clean energy: innovative partnerships and models are needed to fuel clean development in rural Madagascar. This is why SUM exists. We are working to make sure the small steps taken so far, become great enough to reach every person.