Sopowerful Foundation

Sopowerful Foundation – Who they are and what they do

Sopowerful Foundation was established in 2019 with the mission of applying “solar where it matters most”, bringing renewable energy to places where access to electricity can unlock essential services and create lasting opportunities for underserved communities. Since its foundation, the organisation has implemented solar systems primarily in Malawi, as well as in Tanzania and Lebanon, with a focus on projects that enable or strengthen healthcare, education and access to water.

Sopowerful’s work is grounded in the belief that solar energy can be a practical driver of sustainable development. The organisation focuses on communities where the lack of reliable electricity creates daily challenges, limiting access to healthcare, education, water and economic opportunity. By installing solar power systems in carefully selected facilities, Sopowerful helps ensure that energy becomes a tool for improving lives, rather than a barrier to progress.

The organisation works closely with local partners and beneficiaries to design projects that respond directly to community needs. Its approach places strong emphasis on local ownership, long-term sustainability and continued monitoring after installation, helping ensure that systems are properly maintained and continue delivering impact over time.

Through its projects, Sopowerful Foundation demonstrates how targeted solar installations can strengthen essential services, reduce operating costs and help vulnerable communities build greater resilience.

What NEF Does with Sopowerful Foundation

NextEnergy Foundation has partnered with Sopowerful Foundation to deliver renewable energy projects that improve access to healthcare, water and community services in underserved areas of East Africa.

Previous initiatives supported by NEF include:

• 2024 – Chiringa Health Centre, Malawi: Support for the installation of an 8.1 kWp rooftop solar PV system at Chiringa Health Centre in Phalombe District. The project improved the reliability of healthcare services for more than 16,700 patients annually, helped ensure uninterrupted access to clean water and reduced dependence on an unreliable electricity grid.
• 2025 – St. Walburg’s Nyangao Referral Hospital, Tanzania: Support for the installation of a 210 kWp solar PV system with battery storage at St. Walburg’s Nyangao Referral Hospital in Tanzania’s Lindi region. Serving a catchment area of almost 1.93 million people and treating more than 64,000 patients each year, the hospital faced persistent power outages, voltage fluctuations and high operating costs. The new solar system was designed to provide reliable electricity for critical departments including emergency services, operating theatres, ICU, laboratory and radiology units, helping strengthen healthcare delivery while reducing dependence on diesel generators.

Building on these successful healthcare initiatives, NEF and Sopowerful Foundation are continuing their partnership through two new projects in Malawi that demonstrate how renewable energy can support both healthcare services and sustainable livelihoods.

Project 1 – Strengthening healthcare at Koche Community Hospital

Koche Community Hospital is a faith-based health facility under the Christian Health Association of Malawi, located in Michesi Village near Nkopola, in Mangochi District. Established in 1981, the hospital acts as a key referral and treatment centre for surrounding rural communities, providing services including laboratory care, surgery, maternity care, radiology, dental and eye services, and oxygen therapy.

Despite its critical role, the hospital faces major operational challenges due to unreliable and expensive electricity. Power shortages affect medical procedures, equipment sterilisation, diagnostics and water supply, while the facility’s reliance on generators creates high fuel and maintenance costs. In some cases, patients have to be referred to Mangochi District Hospital instead of receiving timely treatment locally.

Through this project, NEF will support the installation of a solar and battery storage system designed around the hospital’s most urgent energy needs. The system will include 32.4 kWp of installed solar capacity, 30 kVA inverters and 60 kWh of battery storage, helping power laboratory, theatre, dental and eye clinic operations, radiology equipment, oxygen therapy, sterilisation equipment and direct water pumping.

Reliable solar power will allow Koche Community Hospital to deliver faster, safer and more consistent healthcare. It will reduce generator use and operating costs, support critical medical services and help avoid unnecessary referrals that place additional burdens on patients and families.

The impact is expected to be significant. Based on the hospital’s recent patient numbers, the project is expected to benefit between 30,000 and 40,000 patients each year, strengthening healthcare access for rural communities that depend on the hospital for essential services.

Project 2 – Supporting women farmers and food security in Namikhate

The second project will support Namikhate Cooperative, a community-based agricultural initiative in Namikhate Village. The cooperative supports 80 women farmers, 178 children through a school feeding programme and a wider catchment population of 3,232 people.

At present, the cooperative’s agricultural production is severely limited by the mismatch between land availability and water access. During the rainy season, the cooperative can use only around two acres of land, while during the dry season more land becomes available but cannot be cultivated because there is no reliable water source. As a result, farming remains largely rain-fed, seasonal and vulnerable to delayed rains or dry spells.

Through the Namikhate Irrigation Project, NEF will support the introduction of a solar-powered irrigation system designed to enable dry-season cultivation across six acres of land. The system will allow the cooperative to move from a single seasonal production cycle on two acres to a more productive and diversified model combining rainy-season farming with irrigated dry-season agriculture.

The irrigation system will be managed collectively by the women’s cooperative and will support the cultivation of crops including maize, soybeans and vegetables. It is expected to increase crop production, improve food availability for households and the nursery school feeding programme, and generate surplus produce that can be sold to increase women’s incomes.

By enabling more reliable, year-round farming, the project will strengthen food security, improve household income and reduce dependence on rainfall. It will also contribute to women’s economic empowerment by giving cooperative members greater control over agricultural production and increasing their ability to participate in household and community decision-making.