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Households in Kambia District to benefit from the Lite Salone Programme – a Landmark Initiative Providing Solar Home Kits and Lamps to Light and Power Communities

Kambia, Sierra Leone | 16 April 2025: – The Honourable Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy & Food Security (PI-CREF) and Energy Governance Coordination Group (EGCG) in collaboration with the Embassies of Ireland and Iceland officially launched Lite Salone, an expanded pilot to bring Solar Energy to rural homes in Kambia District.

The event, co-hosted by the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy & Food Security (PI-CREF), the Embassy of Ireland, and the Embassy of Iceland, brought together representatives of government, the donor community, and key stakeholders from across Kambia to mark the official launch of the Lite Salone project.

Flanked by other chiefs from the neighbouring chiefdoms, Paramount Chief Bai Farama Tass Bubu Ngbak IV warmly welcomed the diverse guest who have arrived to grace the occasion in Kambia. “We as a community welcome such impactful initiatives that touches the lives our women, our children, and the entire community. We appreciate the focus on Kambia District and look forward to collaborating with the partners to ensure this project succeeds.”

A landmark initiative bringing clean, affordable solar energy to rural communities in Kambia District, the Lite Salone Renewable Energy Access for Rural Households will use a Public Private Partnership (PPP) to ensure the installation of Solar Home Systems in rural communities using an Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model. Households will then pay a small monthly fee of NLe 60 to access the solar kits, while the bottom 10 percent of households, identified through a community-led wealth ranking process will receive free solar lamps. The token fee will facilitate the upkeep of the kits and enable sustainable energy access over time.

A large percentage of the Sierra Leonean populace relies heavily on the use of biomass due to the limited nature of the national grid. Under President Julius Maada Bio, the government has prioritized renewable energy solutions and is working with partners to expand access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. The Lite Salone pilot will initially target four chiefdoms in Kambia, with a plan to expand to the entire district. Between December 2024 and January 2026, about 10,000 households in Kambia District are expected to receive solar energy kits and lamps.

“Our efforts to empower communities under the leadership of President Julius Maada Bio is real. I am pleased that Kambia is poised to benefit from this project – Lite Salone. We will continue to collaborate with partners to bring development in every part of the country,” emphasized Hon. Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, who also leads the Energy Sector in Sierra Leone. He encouraged residents of Kambia to prioritized development for their communities, for themselves and their children and to protect the assets needed to improve their lives. “When people steal or destroy transformers, it is the entire community that suffers. When there is light, everybody benefits – children can study, businesses can grow and health care delivery improves,” he underscored.

Irish Ambassador to Sierra Leone, His Excellency Aidan Fitzpatrick noted that “over the coming months we look forward to lightning up all homes across four chiefdoms, providing a solar home system to each household through an energy as a service model. Depending on how the programme works in the first cohort of chiefdoms and securing further support, we look forward to extending the programme across all the chiefdoms.

“Iceland is delighted to be part of Lite Salone, which is a collaborative and innovative project to light up Kambia and to ensure that remote and underserved communities have access to clean and affordable energy. The increased use of and equal access to renewable energy is essential to end energy poverty and combat climate change and Lite Salone is a step towards achieving those goal,” said Kjartan Atli Oskarsson, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Iceland in Freetown.
“We are bringing the scale and efficiency of project and infrastructure development to the off-grid Solar me Systems space and combining it with smart subsidies to make it affordable to rural households,” said Alexandre Tourre, CEO of Easy Solar and co-founding member of REAL. “We’re proud to support the Government of Sierra Leone’s efforts to provide access to energy in rural areas through this ambitious and innovative pre-electrification programme.”
 
We designed this pilot not just to deliver electricity, but to restore dignity and choice to the people of Kambia and ultimately to the whole of Sierra Leone,” said George Were, Country Director, Trocaire Sierra Leone.
 
Mohamed Abdul Mansarico, Chairman of the Kambia District Council informed the community that development is not about colours as he thanked the partners for the focus on Kambia. He highlighted that access to light underpins the development of individuals and communities and the Lite Salone is one that they should and must all embrace.
 
The combined efforts of the various other partners including the European Union, Endev, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationalale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) means that every home in Kambia will not only have a solar energy lightning, but a clean cooking stove as well to address the energy deficit across the district and transforming lives.

Note to Editors:

About the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security (PI-CREF):
The Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security leverages support for related Ministries, Departments and Agencies to develop, manage, coordinate and strategically align public policy and national development efforts to drive effective delivery of climate change actions, universal access to sustainable energy, food and nutrition security programmes in Sierra Leone.

About The Embassy of Ireland:
Ireland opened a development programme office in Freetown in 2005, followed by the opening of an Embassy in 2014. The Embassy of Ireland in Sierra Leone works to promote and protect Irish interests in Sierra Leone, strengthen political and economic relationships, support the Irish community, and promote cultural ties and the Irish arts. Ireland’s work in Sierra Leone has a strong focus on empowering women and girls through increasing gender equality and improving education, nutrition, food and energy security, and governance.

About The Embassy of Iceland:
Development cooperation between Iceland and Sierra Leone began in 2018 with Iceland‘s collaboration with the West African Regional Fisheries Project (WARFP), funded by the World Bank, with the overall objective of supporting the sustainable use of marine resources and enhancing livelihoods in fishing communities. Iceland’s focus has been on improving livelihoods in coastal communities through a holistic approach, including WASH and improved handling of fish catches in collaboration with UNICEF in the country and the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources. In addition, Iceland has been focused on gender equality and improving the lives of children in Sierra Leone, e.g. with collaboration with UNFPA on improving quality of life for girls and women living with obstetric fistula and supporting Home-Grown School Meals with WFP. Iceland formally established its embassy in Sierra Leone in May 2024.

 

Media Contacts:

Anthony Abdul Karim Kamara, Jnr. | Director – Partnerships, Communications and Outreach
Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security (PI-CREF)
Email: akkamara@statehouse.gov.sl | +232.78.107.303

 Wendy Jacobs | Development Specialist Officer

Embassy of Ireland
Wendy.Jacobs@dfa.ie | +232.73.190.621

Kjartan Atli Oskarsson | Deputy Head of Mission
Embassy of Iceland
kao@mfa.is | +232.76.940.465