GRAMEEN SHAKTI

Grameen Shakti is a pioneering social enterprise in Bangladesh, founded in 1996 by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, to provide sustainable and affordable renewable energy solutions to rural, off-grid communities. As a not-for-profit company under the Grameen Bank, its mission is to empower rural populations, reduce poverty, and improve livelihoods by increasing energy access. The organization’s unique model combines microfinance with renewable technology, enabling low-income households to purchase solar home systems, biogas plants, and improved cookstoves through small, manageable installment payments.

As the world’s leading implementer of solar home systems by a single organization, Grameen Shakti has brought clean, reliable electricity to millions of people across Bangladesh’s remote regions. Beyond direct energy access, the company’s work has had a transformative socio-economic and environmental impact. Its programs have displaced the use of polluting and expensive kerosene lamps, improving household health, extending daylight hours for education and income-generating activities, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Grameen Shakti has also empowered thousands of rural women by training and employing them as technicians, creating green jobs and promoting female entrepreneurship in the renewable energy sector. This innovative and scalable approach has earned it global recognition and multiple awards, solidifying its status as a model for sustainable rural electrification.