SolSetu — Impact

Women in Solar: Empowering Change Through Clean Energy Entrepreneurship

Published: 25 October 2025, 05:00 PM · By Solsetu Publisher

Across India, women are moving from the margins into the centre of the solar value chain — as founders, technicians, finance leaders and community mobilisers. In 2025, this trend is accelerating: targeted skilling, women-focused financing and local enterprise models are unlocking both incomes and energy access in rural and urban areas alike.

Why women matter to India’s solar transition

Women bring community trust, local knowledge and durable business models that often outperform purely transactional approaches. Women-led solar enterprises focus on livelihoods (solar pumps for smallholder irrigation, microgrids for village enterprises), productive uses and last-mile service — all of which increase adoption and improve social outcomes.

Profiles: Women-led initiatives to watch

• Community microgrid leaders — In several states, women’s self-help groups (SHGs) manage mini-grids that provide night-time lighting and power for small businesses, with revenues staying within the community.
• Women entrepreneurs in agro-solar — Female-led ventures are bundling solar pumps with cold storage and agro-processing, helping farm incomes and reducing food loss.
• Tech & services founders — Women co-founders are launching asset-monitoring startups focused on remote O&M, giving rural clients subscription-based reliability instead of large upfront costs.

How policy and finance are stepping up

Several state renewable agencies and international donors are creating gender-targeted grant windows and concessional loans for women entrepreneurs. Peer-lending and local MFIs are bundling solar loans with microenterprise finance, while capacity-building programs train women technicians in installation and system maintenance.

Barriers that still need solving

• Access to working capital: Women entrepreneurs often lack collateral and bank credit histories; blended finance instruments and guarantee funds can help bridge the gap.
• Technical certification: Short, accredited technician courses targeted at women reduce skill barriers and increase employability in supply chains.
• Social constraints: Mobility, safety and household labour burdens can limit participation; localized work models and flexible training help overcome these limits.

How vendors, funders and policy-makers can help

• Build gender-smart procurement: set aside quotas or scoring for women-led or women-employing enterprises in tender evaluation.
• Create blended financing & microloan products specifically for women entrepreneurs in solar services and distribution.
• Support accredited, short-duration technical skilling for women (installation, inverter maintenance, basic electrical safety).
• Partner with SHGs and NGOs to incubate women-led micro-enterprises that provide last-mile service and sales.

For investors and vendors, women-led solar businesses offer both strong social impact and sound economics — improving repayment, uptime and local trust. As India scales solar deployment, integrating gender into planning and finance will produce more resilient, equitable outcomes.