🌐 No Grid, No Problem: d.light Transforms 180 Million Lives with Solar Power

I first encountered d.light’s affordable solar lamp in 2007 while hosting my former radio show, “The Lazy Environmentalist,” on SiriusXM. We had one in our studio. Its novelty was its price; it was cheap at the precise moment when consumer interest in going green was spreading into the mainstream, but it seemed like all green products were overly expensive.

Al Gore’s documentary movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” had been released the previous year and changed the cultural landscape. The media was looking for angles to talk about sustainability. The focus turned to green consumer products, and d.light became a media darling.

Then, the Great Recession hit in 2008. Consumers tightened their belts. The media shifted to other priorities, leaving attention on climate change and sustainability languishing.

But d.light was just getting started. And that solar lamp? It wasn’t meant for North American consumption. It had been designed after field testing in rural Mynammar to withstand being trampled on by a cow or run over by a motor scooter. 

d.light was embarking on a path to bring affordable solar-powered, sustainable products to the two billion people in the developing world without access to a reliable energy grid. Ned Tozun, co-founder & CEO, was building a venture-backed “rocket ship” for positive environmental and social impact.

Yet, Ned still had to figure out how to:

1. Design a full line of durable products and establish a global supply chain.

2. Develop marketing strategies customized to the tastes of local markets.

3. Create last-mile distribution and deploy sales teams in remote communities.

4. Become a consumer financing company—in addition to a products company—for low-income families without access to banking.

(d.light customizes messaging for its different markets)

So Ned, newly married and recently graduated from Stanford University, packed up and moved with his wife to Shenzhen, China—for four years.

While Ned worked on the product with his Chinese suppliers, his co-founder, Sam Goldman, moved to India to jumpstart sales.

Seventeen years later, d.light is an “overnight success.” Its solar products have impacted the lives of over 180 million people across 72 countries, with major operations in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The company employs 1,200 people and tens of thousands of local sales agents to bring its innovative products to remote, rural communities.

d.light’s products have a tangible impact: children can study after dark with solar lights, midwives can safely deliver babies without struggling in darkness, and families no longer need to rely on hazardous kerosene, thanks to clean solar energy.

The global impacts are extraordinary:

• 75 million school-aged children reached with solar lighting

• 30 million homes powered by solar

• 40 million tons of CO2 offset

•  $600 million of loans extended to the underbanked

Now, d.light aims to reach one billion people by 2030, providing a grid-like energy lifestyle without connecting to the grid.

The objective: leapfrog over fossil fuels and enable one billion people to head directly into the low-carbon future.

d.light’s success comes at a time when the funding gap for clean, renewable energy in the developing world is the top issue at this year’s UN COP Summit.  Yet, while global leaders bicker, wrangle, and consistently fail to rise to the occasion, the developing world is charging ahead.

Innovative companies like d.light are figuring out creative financing to gain market adoption. On top of that, already cheap Chinese solar panels keep getting cheaper, making solar projects viable.

For example, in Africa, solar power has grown from 300MW in 2011 to 13,500MW in 2023. While entrepreneurs and utility companies are eager for more funding, they’re taking matters into their own hands and building the future now.

In November, Ned Tozun was named to the 2024 Time100 Climate list, featuring the 100 most influential leaders driving business to real climate action.

He joins Supercool to share how d.light successfully builds global operations and evolves to meet customer needs while staying true to its mission to provide sustainable solar products for all.

Take me to the podcast:

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Number of the week: 120

That’s the amount of gigawatts (GW) of solar panels China exported around the globe in the first six months of 2024. It tops the entire operating solar capability of the U.S. (107 GW) in August of this year. China’s low-cost solar panel exports enable developing countries to accelerate renewable energy adoption.

Quote of the week: 

“Eventually, we saw a future where people could leapfrog the grid, similar to how mobile phones totally skip landlines in a lot of the places we work. We saw solar solutions leapfrogging the grid because the reality for many of our customers is the grid is just not going to get there in the next decade. But solar is affordable. The way to make it work is to finance it because many customers cannot afford to pay for their energy all up front.”

— Ned Tozun, founder & CEO of d.light, on the evolution of his startup from going beyond making solar and sustainable products to creatively financing them for customers.

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City Spotlight: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Earlier this year, David Miller, former mayor of Toronto and current Managing Director at C40 Cities, extolled Addis Ababa on the Supercool podcast, saying that it is a city that moves fast to take big climate action.

Here is what’s Supercool about Addis Ababa:

Waste-to-Energy Power Plant: The 5 million people of Addis Ababa breathe healthier thanks to Africa’s state-of-the-art power plant, the first of its kind on the continent. it transforms waste from the city landfill—the size of 36 football fields—into electricity. Instead of greenhouse gases escaping during production, they’re captured and turned into inert materials.

Waste to Constructions Bricks: Entrepreneurs are also tackling the waste challenges facing Addis Ababa. Startup Kubik turns hard-to-recycle plastics into low-cost, low-carbon bricks that can replace cement materials. They assemble like legos.

Urban Farming: Farm Africa supports rural farmers across eastern Africa. Now, it brings expertise to the city to regreen Addis Ababa through urban farms that enable low-income residents to access nutritious food year-round. 

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