Startup Story
Cátia Siueia is the founder of Smart Energy Initiatives in Mozambique. She is an entrepreneur extremely passionate about technology. Her business distinction lies in offering totally environmentally friendly and economically sustainable solar cookers to low-income women. At the end of 2021, Smart Energy Initiatives was created for the purpose of reaching women who do not have access to energy. The company currently has four employees who promote this impact driven initiative.
LoA spoke to Cátia Siueia about her mission to positively impact lives by creating access to affordable energy for women and communities.
What does your company do?
Smart Energy Initiatives is dedicated to the production of high-performance stoves, ovens, and solar dehydrators for low-income women and communities that have difficulties in accessing energy.
“I believe in finding solutions to the challenges that women have in finding a favorable economic framework in society due to the lack of access to energy.”
“Our product is completely environmentally friendly, it has been exclusively designed to reduce carbon dioxide levels, and offer better quality of life and health to users since these products do not emit toxics during operation.”
What inspired you to start your company?
I believe in finding solutions to the challenges that women have in finding a favorable economic framework in society due to the lack of access to energy, and even the negative consequences that their activities generate on the climate and in their daily lives. Creating an idea that could provide a better quality of life, generate a previously non-existent economy and opportunities to create a source of income through our dehydrators and make these women environmental leaders, is something that was and continues to resonate with me in this project.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
The fact that our product is completely environmentally friendly, it has been exclusively designed to reduce carbon dioxide levels, offer better quality of life and health to users since these products do not emit toxics during operation, and additionally, they have been designed so that they are economically viable for users.
Tell us a little about your team:
My team consists of a total number of 4 employees. It is a dynamic team committed to continually creating new ideas that can underpin our business. Three employees are from the IT area, as our initiative includes services of a digital nature, and another employee has technical training in the area of product design. I have to say that I feel grateful to the universe for being able to collaborate with people who understand the value that this project can bring to different faces that need this initiative. The support of my colleagues is simply unique.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I worked in the oil and gas industry for 9 years, playing different roles such as procurement, local development and sustainability of social projects. I believe that this journey has served as a foundation for me to direct my projects always with a social character.
“I believe that the path of self-knowledge, meeting authentic people and facing new challenges has been the top of my journey as an entrepreneur.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
Certainly, to scale the project in a sustainable way to more provinces in the country and continuously have more partners who look at this project with the same eyes or if not with a greater scope.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Waking up every day with new challenges and finding ways to overcome them. It has been an extremely arduous journey, but the fact that I have the support of people near and dear to me enlightens me a lot. And I resort a lot to people who have gone through obstacles in the business area, and I try to understand and learn how they faced these difficulties and I definitely carry in me a unique desire to continue with my projects. An example of this is, whenever an uncomfortable situation arises, I ask myself what it means to say exactly what the problem really represents. I do this in a sustainable way and allow my thoughts to communicate with each other in a friendly way. I believe that the path of self-knowledge, meeting authentic people and facing new challenges has been the top of my journey as an entrepreneur.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
May they never give up, for some reason the universe created this moment. And most likely there will not be a moment of privilege if not for you to show yourself who you are and what you are capable of doing. So never give up. Be fighters and seek to praise yourself, be kind and generous with yourself and seek support from those who are available to help you. Look for people who reinforce and attribute greater value to your projects. And take care of yourselves with the greatest love and zeal. Yeah, we need to take advantage of your business.
Contact or follow Smart Energy Initiatives
Email: catiasiueia@gmail.com
Website: https://smart-energy1.netlify.app
Why LoA loves it…
At Lionesses of Africa, we love to share the stories of women entrepreneurs who are driven to make a difference in their communities and positively impact lives by finding solutions to key challenges. Cátia Siueia is doing that with her business, Smart Energy Initiatives, making access to essential energy sources affordable for women in Mozambique. She is a passionate change-maker improving the lives of others. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa