#MakeTheWorldGretaAgain
 

I think it’s not an easy task to write about a company which you have had the chance to only join recently, but when you see the kind of heart, soul and hard-work which is put into it every breathing day of the year, it becomes easy.

We're wrapping up (half) a decade of fueling the future of energy with the 5 Ds (Decentralization, Decarbonization, Disruption, Digitization & Democratization), and it hasn't been anything short of eventful.

SOLshare ® was founded with one motive in the beginning: To brighten the future. We began our journey in 2015, and as eventful it was, let me tell you it has not been easy. We have a women-led team of production who, many a times, have chosen to overlook their priorities and continued delivering us results. We have a team of engineers who go out on a limb to make sure the product is up and running, and most importantly, ever-evolving. We have people in the general management who are striving harder every day to only cope up with pace of our ever-growing company, and yet they manage to deliver results.

While governments, policy-makers and people in general have become more accepting towards achieving the SDG goals, the exponentially deteriorating ffects of climate change loom over us with a threat never encountered in the history of mankind: An apocalypse.

But not of the world.

Mother Nature has survived millennia and it can survive hundreds of millennia to come- with or without us. She’s smart, unlike how we have been. So, if anyone is dying, here’s a reality check: It’s us. Studies say the most daunting task will be to adapt the metabolism of our economies to match the carrying capacity of the earth and stay well below 2°C global warming. So, wish us, we’ll need that luck.

Solshare, however, has been playing a proactive role long since the great Greta Thunberg came into light. In 2015, we found out Bangladesh had already over 4 million solar home systems installed,  and they produce USD one billion in energy assets that are wasted in an environment where energy is extremely scarce, namely in the off-gird areas of the country. Ever since, we haven't looked back.

Today just like Greta, we’re going to take you on a journey of storytelling, so that you know why we have a mission and why we don’t think it’s not impossible.
 

Karishma Fatiha
Manager, Marketing & PR

SOLshare currently has over 25 operational microgrids in remote off grid areas around Bangladesh. We have also begun our first installations in India.

Our solar peer-to-peer microgrids are currently serving over 3,000 beneficiaries.

The Social Return on Investment (SROI) as calculated by IIX Global, an external party, estimates that USD 4.85 of impact is created for every USD 1 raised for a P2P solar grid operated.

We are one of the 100 companies listed in the
Global Cleantech 100 and addressed as a
Tech Pioneer by the WEF in 2018.

But all this is not a result of a day, an example
of overnight success but nights and days of
struggling and getting it right.
 

(The figure attached is of houses being interconnected through
SOLshare's P2P energy trading platform called the SOLbazaar)

The SOLshare model ™ is fully aligned with the community. As the community grows, so does our revenue. business sustainability encompasses

The model constitutes a 3-step approach:

I. Access to Energy & Internet: 
the last mile of electricity distribution solved with clean, reliable and affordable energy, as well as internet in the making.

II. Economic Mobility & Livelihoods / Market Development:
a. Skills training, including entrepreneurship.
b. Access to financial products and services.
c. Market linkages: access to new products, buyers and suppliers.

III. Community Driven Development:
With communities/community-centered organizations owning the SOLgrid, the income share earned from trading electricity is reinvested into improving healthcare and education services.

 SOLshare has developed SOLbazaar ™, an IoT-driven trading platform which enables people to trade the excess solar energy generated by solar home systems.
Consider the Solbazaar as a dynamic energy marketplace where SHS-users (Solar Home System users) come to sell their excess energy to non-SHS-users, or people who can’t, unfortunately, afford a SHS for that matter.
One party earns money, the other party finally gets access to affordable electricity. T
he energy sellers can also choose to keep the excess energy to themselves and rather utilize it to run extra appliances like a TV, fridge, or computer.