The Chandelier That Runs on Sunlight

“To be one of the leading chandelier manufacturers in the world.”

That’s the vision of a group of secondary school students in Narok County, Kenya.

Known as the Eagles Club, the students recently presented an innovative idea that combines creativity, entrepreneurship, and renewable energy: a solar-powered chandelier. Built inside a hand-crafted wooden frame, the chandelier captures sunlight to provide light—turning a simple idea into a practical, sustainable product. But the students weren’t just presenting a product. They were presenting a business.

From Idea to Enterprise

The Eagles Club identified environmentally conscious consumers, hotels, restaurants, offices, and retail businesses as potential customers. Their goal is to create lighting that is both attractive and sustainable, while helping businesses reduce energy costs.

Their ambition is clear: to see their products sold in schools, across Kenya, and around the world. For these students, entrepreneurship isn’t just about making money. It’s about identifying a challenge, creating a solution, and finding a way to bring that solution to market.

And their idea reflects the realities of their community. In rural Kenya, reliable access to electricity remains a challenge, while solar power has become an increasingly important source of energy. For the Eagles Club, solar isn’t simply a trend—it’s an opportunity to design something that meets a real need.

Learning by Doing

The chandelier is one example of what can happen when young people are given the opportunity to move beyond the classroom and put their skills into action. Through Asante Africa Foundation’s Youth Livelihood Program, young people develop technology, entrepreneurship, financial, and life skills—and then apply what they learn to real-world challenges. Through the Learn-Do-Teach model, students move from gaining knowledge to creating, testing, and sharing their ideas.

The Eagles Club has taken that journey one step further: turning an idea into a potential enterprise. For their chandelier to move from a school project to a successful business, they will need access to materials, mentorship, financing, and markets. These are the connections that can help transform promising ideas into sustainable livelihoods.

The chandelier may be powered by sunlight, but its real potential comes from something else: the students’ belief that they can build something of their own.

And that’s where innovation begins.