Fatima Jammouch

Moroccan environmental engineer pioneering solar energy adoption in rural North Africa

Fatima Jammouch is a Moroccan environmental engineer and founder of SolarHope, a nonprofit organization that has installed over 15,000 solar systems in underserved regions of North Africa. Born in Marrakech in 1988, she witnessed the energy poverty affecting rural communities during childhood visits to her grandmother's village. After earning an engineering degree from École des Mines de Saint-Étienne, she returned to Morocco in 2012 to address the energy access gap. SolarHope's model combines affordable solar technology with community training programs, ensuring local ownership and sustainability. Their systems now provide electricity to 85,000 people in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, enabling schools, healthcare centers, and small businesses to operate beyond daylight hours. The organization's case studies document how solar energy access increased school attendance by 30% in project areas.

Jammouch's work has been supported by the UNDP and the European Union, helping scale operations to Chad and Niger. Her Greenpeace profile highlights her advocacy for policy changes to support renewable energy in arid regions. In 2021, she launched the Africa Solar Training Initiative, training 500 technicians annually to maintain and expand solar infrastructure. Jammouch's approach emphasizes decentralized energy solutions, challenging the dominance of centralized fossil fuel systems. Her TED Talk "How Solar Power Can Light Up Africa" has become a cornerstone of renewable energy education programs. With 2023 projections showing 30% annual growth for SolarHope, Jammouch's vision is redefining energy equity across the Maghreb region.