Smiling Through Light

🌍 Across Five Shores: One Heritage. Many Stories. A Shared Future.

I’m delighted to share that I’ve been invited to speak as a Panelist at Across Five Shores - Session 2: Education & Digitalization, hosted by the Sierra Africa Diaspora Connect ✨

On Thursday, 15 October 2026, I’ll be joining an inspiring group of educators, entrepreneurs and technology leaders to explore how digital skills, innovation and technology can unlock opportunities and build more connected communities.

I’ll be sharing perspectives from my journey building Smiling Through Light and SanKam Limited, and discussing the role of technology, entrepreneurship and inclusive innovation in creating opportunities across Africa and the diaspora.

💡 Learn. Explore. Connect. Build.
📅 Thursday, 15 October 2026
🕖 19:00–20:30 GMT
💻 Online Webinar

I’d love for you to join us for what promises to be an important and inspiring conversation.

👉 Register here:  https://www.sierrafricanetwork.com/events/

✨Transforming Lives with Clean Energy✨

Mariama Kamara's Journey. Discover how one woman is lighting up Sierra Leone through innovation.In a world where discussions range from AI advancements to clean energy, one pressing issue remains: access to electricity. In this episode of Sòrò sókè, Zaynob engages with Mariama Kamara, the founder of Smiling Through Light, to explore the transformative journey of bringing solar energy to Sierra Leone.

Mariama recalls what motivated her to start her organisation in 2011. After witnessing the stark reality of her homeland during a visit, she was struck by the prevalence of darkness in homes across Sierra Leone, where many still relied on hazardous kerosene lamps. Her background in international development and personal experiences as a Sierra Leonean immigrant fueled her drive to create sustainable solutions.

Mariama emphasises the need for local women to play active roles in the energy value chain, not just as consumers but as leaders and innovators.Mariama's journey illustrates the impact one person can have when they decide to take action. Her story is not just about solar energy; it’s about empowerment, sustainability, and the belief that collective efforts can lead to significant change✨

How is one woman lighting up Sierra Leone? | On electricity Sòrò Sókè podcast · Episode

I’m really happy to share this conversation with you. ❤️

I was honoured to be invited as the Founder & Director of Smiling Through Light to join Zaynob Sumon from The Soro Soke Thinktank for a conversation about my journey, clean energy and the work we’re doing to light up Sierra Leone.

We spoke about what inspired me to start Smiling Through Light in 2011, the realities of energy poverty, the importance of women being active participants in the energy value chain not just consumers and why locally-led solutions matter.

But beyond solar energy, this conversation is really about possibility.

It’s about what can happen when we see a problem, choose to act, and keep going. It’s about women, communities, innovation and the belief that we can create a different future for Sierra Leone and Africa.

I genuinely loved this conversation and I hope you will too. 😊

🎧 Listen to the episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7macsI1qqDmB6Izhv1Brwn?si=3QQM-MFkR76TmVt5EyxEyQ&utm_source=copy-link

If you listen and enjoy it, please share it with your community. The more we amplify African stories, ideas and solutions, the more powerful the conversation becomes.

Thank you to The Sòrò Sókè Thinktank for creating the space and for inviting me to share my story. 🙏🏾

How is one woman lighting up Sierra Leone? | On electricity Sòrò Sókè podcast · Episode

When conversations become partnerships 💡

My week in Sierra Leone started with our PAYG Sales Training ongoing in Lunsar for our incredible female sales agents whilst I stayed in Freetown for meetings.

One of the most valuable outcomes from the Sierra Leone Diaspora Investment Conference 2026 has been the opportunity to move our discussions with Vista Bank Sierra Leone forward.

During the conference, I met with the MD to discuss their Sierra Leone Access to Finance facility for women-led businesses. While in Sierra Leone, I continued the conversation with Deputy MD Madam Priscilla, together with our Finance Assistant, Tamba Alie, exploring how this could support Smiling Through Light’s growth and expansion of clean energy access.

This is why conferences like this matter, the real impact is what happens after the event.

I am excited about the partnership we are working towards with Vista Bank and the potential to unlock finance that can help women-led businesses like ours scale.

Thank you to the Vickie Remoe VR&C Marketing Company team for creating a platform that connects entrepreneurs, investors, financial institutions and the diaspora.

From conversations, to connections, to action. 🇸🇱

Day 3 of Sales Training ☀️

Day 3 continued our focus on Problem-Led Selling, with a key focus on communicating the value of the solution and, importantly, the closing - helping customers confidently take that final step to sign up.

While the team continued their training, I headed into the Lunsar local market to meet with the Chairlady of the Market Association and some of our customers.

These conversations were a great reminder that effective selling starts with listening, understanding people’s real challenges and connecting our solutions to their needs.

At STL, we are not simply selling solar products; we are changemakers in the communities we serve, helping households and businesses access cleaner, affordable and reliable energy. ☀️🌍

A big thank you to Njeri Gikami for continuing to challenge and develop our team, and a special thank you to the EA Foundation for funding and supporting this important investment in our people, their skills and STL’s commercial growth. 🙏🏾

Day 2 of Sales Training ☀️

Another great day of learning with the Smiling Through Light (STL) team in Lunsar✨

Today we focused on Problem-Led Selling, understanding the customer’s problem, exploring the real cost of that problem, doing the calculations and then presenting the right solution.

We also looked closely at the features and benefits of our solar products and importantly, the key transition from problem → cost of the problem → solution.

One message really stood out for me: we are not simply selling solar products - we are changemakers in the communities we serve.☀️

When we understand our customers, their problems and the impact we can make, we can sell with greater purpose, confidence and authenticity.

Great work from the team today and a huge thank you to Njeri Gikami for bringing such practical and transformational learning to the team✨

And a special thank you to the EA Foundation for supporting this important investment in our team, our sales capabilities and the communities we serve✨

🇸🇱 Hello from Sierra Leone! 🇸🇱

Arrived safe and sound and straight into an exciting week with the Smiling Through Light (STL) team☀️

Today marks the start of our Sales Training Programme, generously supported by the EA Foundation.

This has been a journey in itself. We went through a full recruitment and selection process to find the right Sales Training Consultant specialised in PAYGo Solar, and we are delighted to have Njeri Gikami joining us all the way from Kenya 🇰🇪.

A special thank you to Connie Smith Millicent Chebet Willorna Brock Chartered FCIPD for supporting us throughout the recruitment process and helping us navigate the different stages of identifying and selecting the right consultant for STL. Your support has been invaluable😊

For us, this is about much more than sales. We are investing in our people, strengthening their skills, confidence and capabilities so that we can build a stronger, more commercially sustainable business and ultimately reach more families with clean, affordable solar energy.

As a female-led business, we are intentional about creating opportunities to work with and learn from women across different areas of our work. Having Njeri Gikami join us from Kenya is another wonderful example of women sharing knowledge, expertise and experience across Africa🌍

This week we are at the Bai Suba Resort in Lunsar for our Training of Trainers with the management team, before bringing our wider sales team into the programme.

I’m really looking forward to the learning, the conversations, the challenges and most importantly, seeing how we can translate this training into stronger sales performance and sustainable growth for our team and Smiling Through Light ✨

A big thank you to the EA Foundation for supporting this important investment in our team and our growth.

Here’s to learning, growth and building together! 💪🏾☀️

✨Project completed. Another milestone achieved✨

We are proud to share that we have successfully completed all installations under our Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Health Electrification Project, supporting health facilities and Public Health Units (PHUs) across Bo, Moyamba, Pujehun and Bonthe including some of the most remote communities in Sierra Leone.

Getting there was not easy.

From navigating difficult terrain and crossing by boat, to transporting solar products by motorbike and moving equipment through areas with limited road access, our team faced significant logistical challenges throughout the project.

But they kept going. And today, we can say; the installations are complete.

What makes this achievement even more meaningful is knowing that these SPARK solar products will support health facilities providing essential services to communities, including maternal and public health services.

A huge thank you to our incredible team on the ground for their resilience, determination and commitment to getting the job done, no matter how challenging the journey.

This is what localisation looks like in practice; local knowledge, local people and local solutions delivering impact where it matters most.

Thank you to Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for the partnership and to Rogeap PFM ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) for supporting this important work.

Proud of the team. Proud of the impact. Proud to be contributing to Sierra Leone’s clean energy transition. 🇸🇱☀️

A photo popped up in my memories this morning from Iceland in June 2017 and it made me pause and reflect.✨

Almost a decade ago, I had the privilege of being part of the early conversations and development of the People-Centered Accelerator with the UN Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), a global initiative focused on ensuring that the energy transition puts people at the centre.

The workshop, led by the incredible Rachel Kyte, brought together people from across the world to think deeply about how we could advance gender equality, social inclusion and women’s empowerment in the energy sector.

Looking back at that photo, I feel incredibly grateful. Grateful for the opportunity to contribute to conversations that were shaping the future of the global energy sector. Grateful for the incredible people I met and learned from. And grateful that, almost a decade later, I am still doing the work.

Through Smiling Through Light, we continue to work towards a more inclusive energy future one where women are not only beneficiaries of clean energy, but are leaders, entrepreneurs, employees, decisionmakers and agents of change within the sector.

From those early global conversations in Iceland to supporting women-led clean energy solutions in Sierra Leone, the journey has been incredibly meaningful.

Sometimes, we don’t realise how much we have contributed until we look back.

The work continues. The vision remains the same.

A clean energy transition that leaves no one behind. 🌍⚡💫