Powering Possibilities: 5 Ways Renewable Energy is Changing Lives of Women in Nigeria

Photo credit: Nzewi Confidence/Canva

In Nigeria, millions of women lack access to reliable electricity, making daily life more challenging. From running businesses to accessing healthcare and ensuring their families’ well-being, women are disproportionately affected by energy poverty.

But change is happening.

Through renewable energy solutions like solar mini-grids, women in rural and underserved communities are breaking barriers, growing businesses, and improving healthcare for themselves and their families. According to the World Bank, Nigeria loses about $26 billion annually due to unreliable electricity, but renewable energy is helping to bridge this gap.

Here are five ways renewable energy is transforming women’s lives in Nigeria.

1. Empowering Women Entrepreneurs with Reliable Power

Many women-led businesses in Nigeria struggle with unreliable electricity, forcing them to rely on expensive generators that eat into their profits. But with solar-powered mini-grids, business owners can cut costs, increase productivity, and expand their operations.

In Gbabe community, Kwara State, Funmilayo, a tailor, revealed that she had to go a long distance to get her fashion designs embellished with stones. Due to the lack of electricity in her community, she could not get a stoning machine for her business, costing her more money to outsource. However, all that changed with the coming of electricity.

“Since the electricity came, it feels like we are in the King’s city. We have our own engines now and we can lay stones without any problems. There’s more that was said here, include it. With the profit from my business, I have been able to send my children to school and also assist my parents financially. I am also planning to buy another stoning machine in the future.”

2. Electrified Healthcare Centers Are Saving Mothers and Newborns

For many women in rural Nigeria, giving birth can be a life-threatening experience due to lack of electricity in primary healthcare centers (PHCs). Without power, midwives are forced to deliver babies by candlelight or phone torch, and life-saving equipment often remains unused.

In several communities in the South-west,  Havenhill Synergy has transformed the local healthcare centers as well as hospitals, ensuring safe deliveries and emergency care at all hours.

Having constant electricity at these healthcare centers means that more pregnant women have access to safe deliveries, vaccines and essential medicines can be stored safely, and medical emergencies can be handled effectively.

3. Safer Communities for Women and Girls

For many women, walking home at night in the dark is dangerous due to poorly lit streets and public spaces. Lack of electricity in communities increases the risk of gender-based violence and limits mobility for women after sunset.

With solar-powered streetlights and mini-grids, communities are safer, more secure, and thriving with activity even at night.

In Gbabe, since Havenhill Synergy deployed solar power, the transformation has been remarkable:

“Since the electricity came, when you visit this village at night, it is so different from before. We were in darkness, but now if you come here at night, you’d think you are in the city,” says Madam Innocent, a trader in the community.

Well-lit streets reduce the risk of attacks on women, making women feel safer to engage in economic and social activities. Also, girls can study at night, improving education opportunities.

4. Freeing Women from the Burden of Household Energy Struggles

In many Nigerian households, women and girls spend hours gathering firewood for cooking, exposing them to health risks from smoke inhalation and reducing time for education or income-generating activities.

Solar-powered home systems and clean cooking solutions are reducing this burden, giving women back their time and improving their health. This means less time spent gathering firewood, more time for education and economic activities, improved health due to reduced indoor air pollution, and lower households expenses on expensive kerosene and charcoal.

5. Creating More Jobs for Women in Renewable Energy

The renewable energy industry is opening up new job opportunities for Nigerian women, from solar engineering to sales and installation. More women are being trained as solar technicians and entrepreneurs, ensuring that they are not just consumers of energy but active participants in the sector.

Through several initiatives in the renewable energy sector, more women are entering technical roles in the solar industry, and entrepreneurial opportunities in solar sales and distribution are growing.

A Brighter Future for Nigerian Women with Renewable Energy

From empowering businesswomen to saving lives in healthcare centres and creating safer communities, renewable energy is changing the game for women in Nigeria.

At Havenhill Synergy, we are committed to ensuring that more women and underserved communities have access to clean, reliable electricity – because when women have access to clean, reliable electricity, they create a better future for everyone.