Ajaita Shah from India was named the 2017 Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Catalyst pitch competition Grand Champion during 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit. Her startup, Frontier Markets, is a last mile distribution solution for energy products with a focus on solar technology that empowers women. Frontier Markets gives women in India the tools they need to teach their communities about the benefits of solar power and sell solar products.

Extracts from her speech:

“In India, 270 Mn people live in darkness, fear and instability due to the lack of regular access to reliable electricity. While clean energy products can address this, we need to create solutions that are driven by households, to reach the last mile faster.

Frontier Markets has a proven business model that’s ready to scale putting women at the centre of the value chain. Our 1000 women entrepreneurs get trained in marketing, technology, product innovation and get access to innovative clean energy products to sell to rural households to earn income.

To date, our 1000 women entrepreneurs have earned $2.5 million in revenue by selling solar home system, clean cook stoves and agri-appliances to 400,000 households in Rajasthan. We continue to innovate by listening to the rural household to understand what’s next – a solar cookstove, an agri-appliance, a solar TV. And we partner with local Indian manufacturers to make that into a reality.

We do this by listening to our rural households and also drive financial inclusions for women entrepreneurs. Last year, our women entrepreneurs helped Frontier Markets break even and now we are seeking $2 Mn of growth capital to expand our work into 6 states in India to generate $26 Mn of revenue and create 10,000 women entrepreneurs.

We want to really understand that the last mile is about product, innovation and people. Help us understand that women will be in control, they will be credit worthy and the last mile will be heard.

Join me in proving that investing in women is smartest business and a key to poverty alleviation and scale.”

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