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Little Sun in Zambia - give light and livelihood

Bringing solar-powered Little Sun light and employment to Zambia.

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Little Sun in Zambia - give light and livelihood

Little Sun in Zambia - give light and livelihood

Little Sun in Zambia - give light and livelihood

Little Sun in Zambia - give light and livelihood

Little Sun in Zambia - give light and livelihood

Bringing solar-powered Little Sun light and employment to Zambia.

Bringing solar-powered Little Sun light and employment to Zambia.

Bringing solar-powered Little Sun light and employment to Zambia.

Bringing solar-powered Little Sun light and employment to Zambia.

Team Popcorn
Team Popcorn
Team Popcorn
Team Popcorn
2 Campaigns |
Lusaka, Zambia
$5,389 USD 35 backers
17% of $30,600 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Choose your Perk

Gratefulness and appreciation!

$1 USD
4 claimed

Post card from Zambia

$25 USD
8 claimed

Little Sun lamp

$612 USD
Est. Shipping
December 2014
2 claimed
Highlights
Mountain Filled 2 Projects Mountain Filled 2 Projects

Hello, or Muli Bwanji as they say here in Zambia!

I recently moved from London to Zambia to set up as a local distributor of Little Sun solar-powered lamps. Believe me, it was a big change, going from corporate life in one of the world's most privileged civilisations and most bustling metropolises to a country that just 10 years ago was one of the world's poorest and where basic necessities are a luxury. 

I distribute the lamps, through my Lusaka based company, Best Foot Forward Ltd. Since starting, I have hired 2 local employees, who help me with marketing, sales, and training. Their local language skills are also indispensable! 

This request for funding is for a project that I would like to carry out to bring sustainable light and livelihood to Zambians. 


ABOUT OUR BUSINESS 

We are a social business, working to create opportunities and economic empowerment by kick-starting and growing small sustainable businesses. That's why we fell in love and partnered with the global brand Little Sun. They address the need for light in a sustainable way that benefits communities without electricity, creates local jobs and generates local profits. 

The Little Sun business is not a charity. Rather than a short-term fix of donating lamps to areas without electricity (known as 'off-grid' areas), Little Sun focuses on the longer-term goal of building profitable local businesses that distribute Little Sun light, "because it’s not just about delivering light to people – it matters how it gets there".

Our business focuses on providing Little Sun solar-powered lamps to local entrepreneurs at significant discounts so that they can set up small businesses as Little Sun sales agents. To ensure the success of these local businesses, Best Foot Forward Ltd. provides sales training and support. 

In a country with very high unemployment, Little Sun is one way of alleviating the economic hardships encountered by people, both in rural and urban Zambia.

Having previously worked with sustainability and corporate social responsibility for large multinationals, I am very aware of the impact that good business, rather than charity, can have on the economic and social prosperity of a country. As Little Sun states, “we truly believe in the power of local entrepreneurship to shape to future of Africa.” 

Business Development and Marketing Intern, Maggie, out speaking to potential customers in N'gombe compound in Lusaka 


WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP

We would like to fund 50 starter kits for young people, who want to kick-start their own business as Little Sun sales agents, but who don't have the capital needed to make the initial investment in Little Sun lamps. 

Each starter kit will contain 72 lamps and marketing material (72 flyers, 1 sales agent handbook, 1 product bag, 1 T-shirt). The young entrepreneurs will be hand picked with the help of our local partners and will undergo a training program with us before launching their businesses. The 72 lamps will be delivered in small batches over time, enabling us to track their progress. 

Each lamp costs $8.00 USD, including 16% VAT and shipment to Zambia from Berlin. Marketing material is another $36.00 USD per kit. 

So the total for a starter kit is $612 USD.


THE IMPACT OF YOUR FUNDING

The suggested resell price for the sales agents is $14.00 USD per lamp, so with the first stock of lamps from the starter kit, there is a potential $1008 profit of which some will be reinvested in additional stock to keep the businesses running long-term (this in a country where the minimum wage is $101.5 per month and GNI is only $1,480 = $123 per month). 

We recently went on a trip to Malombe village in Zambia's Central Province, where we conducted sales training for a group of young women. One woman explained that for her, the prospect of not having to worry about light after darkness, every night for the next couple of years, meant Little Sun was the best product she could offer. 

Others mentioned that the profit made from selling the lamps would be spent on paying school tuition for their kids. Many also wanted to keep lamps for themselves so that their kids were able to study at night. 

Your contributions, would not only bring sustainable and safe light to people in Zambia, enabling them to study or work beyond sunset, it would also provide livelihood and get 50 young people started in a profitable business. It's a true ripple effect!

If you fund an entire starter kit, we will send you your own Little Sun lamp that you can use in your home, out camping or in your garden! 

                  

New Little Sun sales agents in Central Province

Read about our recent trip to the Central Province together with our partner PLAN International: http://blog.littlesun.com/post/89651878173/little-sun-sales-agents-training-in-zambia


LITTLE SUN DETAILS

Little Sun is an attractive, high-quality solar-powered LED lamp developed by artist Olafur Eliasson and engineer Frederik Ottesen. 

There are hundreds of lighting products on the market today, but a lot are low quality products that cannot be compared to Little Sun in design and quality of light produced.


Little Sun is:

Easy to use - 5 hours of charging in the sun produces 10 hours of dim light or 4 hours of bright light. 

Saves money - We've calculated it to be 90% cheaper than kerosene over 2 years.

Bright light - Little Sun is 10 times brighter than kerosene lanterns or candles.

Healthy - Little Sun produces no dangerous smoke - an evening of breathing the smoke from a kerosene lantern is equivalent to smoking 2 packs of cigarettes. 

Safe - No risk of burns or house fires caused by kerosene lanterns and candles or for suffocation by inhaling fumes from a generator.   

Durable - Little Sun lamps are UV and weather resistant, dust proof and will last for years. 

Portable - Little Sun is small and light enough to carry with you wherever you go - and it can charge while you wear it. It comes with a multi-use detachable strap.

Unique - Little Sun is of high quality and beautifully designed.  

Each lamp comes with a 1-year limited warranty. 

Little Sun is quality certified by the World Bank's Lighting Africa.


               

Providing Little Sun sales training to a group of young people in the Central Province


THE TEAM

Alexandra 
Founder of Best Foot Forward Ltd.

Alex is passionate about people, planet and ingenious ideas. She holds an M.Sc. in Marketing Communications and an MBA in Corporate Social Responsibility. Originally from Denmark, but has lived in 5 different countries across 3 different continents. She has experience with start-ups and currently also runs a small sustainable cosmetics company. 

Margaret
Business Development and Marketing Intern at Best Foot Forward Ltd.

Maggie is a young Zambian female who studied accounting at the Zambia Center For Accountancy Studies. She is passionate about what she does and believes one is only successful if they make those around them better.

Stephen
Business Development and Partnership Intern at Best Foot Forward Ltd.

Stephen studied economics at the University of Zambia. He loves helping people in ways that would make them help others later in life and strongly believes people can live together in peace regardless of their skin color, race, religion or social beliefs.

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