
Mariama is founder of Smiling Through Light and the One Child One Lamp Campaign - She buys certified solar lamps from manufacturers and employs women as agents to sell them at affordable prices to their communities, at a mark up that pays for their salaries and company overheads. She explains her desire for international development but how working in the solar industry as a woman has brought challenges in the commercial and private spaces. This has led to her developing a scheme that supports men to champion other men to support the women, who will ultimately become more independent - all this, in a context where the idea of an independent woman can challenge the status quo.