Ms. Fiza Farhan

Finalist 2016

In Pakistan, over 50,000 villages are detached from the national electricity grid, having no choice but to resort to informal fossil fuel to generate any form of energy.

Under Fiza Farhan’s leadership, the Buksh Foundation launched its initiative “Lighting a Million Lives” (LAML) in 2013 to provide an integrated turnkey sustainable development solution that ensures access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for thousands of off-grid villages in Pakistan. To date, 195 villages have been transformed, impacting 9,750 households and 58,500 individuals.

In the future, Ms. Farhan wishes to address the challenges identified by women entrepreneurs during the implementation of “Lighting a Million Lives” by providing safe transportation in the form of solar powered rickshaws, catering to female entrepreneurs. A solar powered rickshaw leads to steady income for the owner, lower transportation costs for the costumer, and the development of a community savings circle for maintenance of the rickshaws.