Maya Khonje-Stewart

In 2018, Maya and a business partner founded a new retail company called Yellow Solar Power. Using her understanding of the gaps and challenges in the sector, Yellow has already grown into the largest distributor of solar home systems in Malawi with over 300 agents. As a woman in the energy sector, Maya wants to provide opportunities for other women in rural Malawi but early recruiting for Yellow agents was heavily dominated by men. It soon became clear that the main challenge to women entering the sector was lack of access to digital tools.  Looking forward, Maya plans to expand her work beyond Malawi. She would like to see an Africa that has affordable access to energy and that shifts away from energy poverty toward local empowerment. Maya believes that a lot of issues that hinder access to markets, food security, and quality education can be alleviated by ensuring access to energy. Her goal is to address these challenges with simple energy efficient products and consumer financing platforms for last mile customers.