Nandita Nair

A social entrepreneur driving renewable energy access in rural India through decentralized networks

Nandita Nair is the co-founder of Solar Sister, a groundbreaking social enterprise that has transformed energy access in rural India. Born in 1978 in Tamil Nadu, Nair's childhood in a village without reliable electricity inspired her life's work. After earning an engineering degree from IIT Madras, she spent years working in renewable energy startups before launching Solar Sister in 2010.

Her revolutionary model combines micro-franchising with women-led distribution networks. Instead of top-down infrastructure projects, Solar Sister trains local women as 'Entrepreneurs-in-Charge' to sell affordable solar products in their communities. This approach creates jobs while delivering clean energy solutions - lanterns, home systems, and mobile chargers - that replace dangerous kerosene lamps. By 2022, the program had empowered 25,000 women entrepreneurs and provided energy access to 2.5 million people across 15 Indian states.

Nair pioneered the 'Last Mile' model, which uses hyper-local marketing strategies tailored to rural cultural contexts. Her team developed a unique inventory management system using basic mobile phones, enabling entrepreneurs to track inventory and customer needs without internet connectivity. This system inspired similar programs in Kenya and Nigeria, demonstrating the model's scalability.

In 2019, Nair introduced the Solar Health Initiative, integrating medical refrigeration and diagnostic devices into energy systems. This innovation preserved vaccines in remote clinics and enabled telemedicine services, saving an estimated 1,200 lives annually. Her work has been featured in Forbes and TIME, earning her the Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy in 2021.