A clean-energy initiative involving the Mastercard Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and Koolboks is helping Nigerian women entrepreneurs access solar-powered refrigeration(solar freezers) to grow their businesses. The programme forms part of a wider opportunity to create between 455,000 and 1.2 million low-income jobs for women across sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 through climate-smart industries.
Implemented under the three–year Energizing Women and Youth in Agri-Food Systems Programme (EWAS), the intervention aims to support 17,000 jobs and improve the livelihoods of 136,000 people in Nigeria and Ethiopia by March 2027. Koolboks has reached more than 120 beneficiaries in Nigeria, providing solar freezers equipment through flexible payment arrangements that allow entrepreneurs to spread costs over several months.
Beneficiaries say the solar freezers have reduced their dependence on public electricity and petrol generators while helping them preserve products and increase sales. In Badagry, Lagos, business owner Rachel Adegbola said the equipment had eased the financial pressure of keeping food products fresh, while Beatrice Onyebuchi reported that her drinks stock had grown from about 10 packs to between 20 and 50 packs following improved storage.
