BRIGHT’s solar lamp Repair Program: A circular economy model for humanitarian e-waste
In Uganda's Bidibidi refugee settlement, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) leads a multi-stakeholder e-waste management project that Norway's Innovation Norway and IOM's own reporting to the UN describe as the leading e-waste initiative in the humanitarian sector — the first comprehensive circular economy model tested in a displacement setting. At its centre is BRIGHT's solar lamp Repair Program, which trains local technicians to turn e-waste into opportunity through repair, refurbishment and battery recovery. Since the project launched in 2022, technicians have collected 11,650 solar lamps, repaired and returned 9,379 to use, and recovered over 20,000 lithium-ion cells for reuse in second-life battery packs. By combining circular economy principles, community ownership and a direct feedback loop into product design, the Repair Program offers a working model for e-waste management in displacement settings — aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).
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BRIGHT runs its Repair Program in Bidibidi as part of a multi-stakeholder E-waste Management project led by IOM and funded by Innovation Norway. Results since the project's launch in 2022:
Circular economy impact- 11,650 solar lamps collected
- 9,379 solar lamps repaired and returned to use
- 20,752 lithium-ion cells recovered
- 14,868 cells tested and reused
- 317 second-life LiFePO₄ battery packs produced
Livelihoods and community impact
- 200,000+ people reached through e-waste awareness and repair services
- Bidibidi Electronic Multipurpose Cooperative Society (BEMCOS) established as a community-led e-waste enterprise
- 30 refugee and host community youth employed
- Informal e-waste handlers integrated into the value chain
- A scalable circular economy model demonstrated
Overall impact: reduced e-waste, expanded clean energy access, green jobs created, and a model developed for replication across other displacement settings.
The challenge of e-waste in displacement settings and refugee camps
Displacement settings and refugee camps often lack access to repair services and proper waste disposal, leading to significant e-waste accumulation that poses environmental and health risks. Humanitarian agencies distribute large volumes of solar and electronic products to meet basic energy needs, but the systems built to distribute them rarely account for what happens at end of life. The often leaves repair, disposal and recovery largely unaddressed.
From e-waste to opportunity: A circular model
BRIGHT is committed to advancing clean energy in humanitarian settings, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals 7 (affordable and clean energy) and 12 (responsible consumption and production).
In 2019, visits to refugee camps in Kenya (Kakuma) and Jordan (Zaatari and Azraq), revealed a pressing issue: repairable solar products, including BRIGHT’s lamps, were being discarded as e-waste. This inspired the Repair Program, launched in 2021, with two goals:
- Extend product life: Repair and refurbish solar lamps for a “second life” using spare parts, toolkits, and a tablet-based digital learning platform (now publicly available online).
- Build local capacity: Train community members in solar lamp repair, creating job opportunities in the process.
The programme is built around circular economy principles — repair, reuse and recycling — to reduce waste and create sustainable livelihoods.
“We have a responsibility for our products’ lifecycle,”
says Lorena Muñoz Carmona, Head of Humanitarian Partnerships at BRIGHT. “We would not be true to our values and our mission if we ignored the fact solar lamps can generate e-waste.”
A leading model for humanitarian e-waste management
In 2020, IOM initiated the E-Waste Management Project in Bidibidi, Uganda, funded by Innovation Norway’s Humanitarian Innovation Programme. Launched in 2022, the multi-stakeholder effort currently includes BRIGHT, Mercy Corps, AceleAfrica, along with research partners Open Energy Labs, Strathmore University, and the WEEE Center. The project established three linked functions:
- E-waste collection: Led by Mercy Corps' community mobilisers, who collect broken solar lamps and raise awareness
- A repair centre: Where technicians repair lamps using BRIGHT's training and spare parts
- A battery laboratory (Bat Lab): Where technicians trained by AceleAfrica test and repurpose battery cells into second-life packs.
The IOM, citing the German development agency GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and innovation consultancy TINKR states that the Bidibidi initiative is "recognised as the leading e-waste initiative in the humanitarian sector". Innovation Norway, which funds the project, notes it as "the only comprehensive circular economy solution tested in a displacement setting." IOM has reported the initiative in the same terms in its own submissions to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs on SDG implementation.
BRIGHT began training in March 2022, led by Head of R&D and Manufacturing, Line Iren Andersen, and Head of Sales, Madeleine Chapman Kjellevand. The first cohort of eight technicians — ranging from novices to those with minimal repair experience — learnt to repair BRIGHT's solar lamps while building technical and digital skills. That cohort has since grown into the wider BEMCOS workforce described below.
Impact of the project
Since 2022, technicians have collected 11,650 solar lamps and repaired and returned 9,379 to use. In the Bat Lab, 20,752 lithium-ion cells have been recovered, of which 14,868 have been tested and reused — producing 317 second-life LiFePO4 battery packs. Beyond the repair centre, awareness and repair services have reached more than 200,000 people across the settlement and host community.
Repaired lamps enable night-time business operations, while technicians advocate for proper e-waste disposal to protect soil and water. "This project is for the community, by the community," says Lorena.
She points out that some of the program’s impact includes the development of soft skills like digital literacy, and communication skills like public speaking. Lorena adds that one of the technicians reported how the E-waste Management project has changed her perception of what women can do in a technical field.
Repaired lamps enable night-time business operations, while technicians advocate for proper e-waste disposal to protect soil and water, with reports that attitudes in the community towards e-waste are shifting. “This project is for the community, by the community,” says Lorena.
Livelihoods and confidence: The human impact
The numbers only tell part of the story. "In feedback sessions, technicians have reported remarkable improvements in their livelihoods and personal lives because of their repair work," says Lorena. Some technicians have invested in education and homes; one elderly participant bought a moped to help him get around the settlement.
The programme's impact extends to soft skills too — digital literacy and public speaking among them. One technician told BRIGHT the E-waste Management project changed her perception of what women can do in a technical field. Another recalled a sense of pride in learning to use a digital tablet for the first time, having initially struggled with it — the same tablets technicians now use to access BRIGHT's repair training platform and log repair and end-user survey data.
In 2024, project participants formed the 30-member Bidibidi Electronic Multipurpose Cooperative Society (BEMCOS), comprising refugees and host community members, which now charges for repairs to ensure the initiative's financial sustainability. The cooperative will eventually manage and oversee the project's continuation.
In July 2025, BEMCOS was among the winners of the Uganda Business Idea Contest, organised by Deloitte, the Government of Uganda and JICA, in collaboration with UNHCR Japan and Welcome Japan — a contest promoting self-reliance and peaceful coexistence between refugees and host communities. Along with a $3,000 prize and further technical support, BEMCOS represented the initiative at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
Knowledge transfer and upskilling
Initially limited to repairing BRIGHT solar lamps, the training has built technicians' confidence to attempt repairs on other electronic devices. The programme complements a repair culture and demand for technical services that BRIGHT's team observed in Bidibidi from early visits.
"During our visits to Bidibidi we have noticed on numerous occasions a strong willingness among technicians to repair lamps, with some even going beyond the planned scope of repairs covered by the E-waste Management project," says Lorena.
In a 2024 feedback session, BEMCOS members expressed a clear consensus: they want to expand into a broader range of electronic repairs and acquire advanced skills such as electrical installation.
Informed improvements in solar lamp product design
E-waste management projects of this kind are a key feedback loop for product design. Field data from the Repair Program identified weak points in the power button and flip lids of an earlier SunBell design, prompting design updates. The same insights have shaped BRIGHT's newer Sol range — built with fewer components, integrated buttons and reinforced lids to reduce failure points, making it more durable and easier to repair and recycle. This kind of field-informed durability and repairability work also supports alignment with the quality benchmarks the sector already relies on, including the IEC TS 62257-9-5 and 62257-9-8 technical standards for off-grid solar lighting.
This feedback loop between field repairs and product development is central to reducing e-waste and environmental impact over the long term.
Centering community voices
Community input has shaped the project throughout. As members of the community, technicians are best placed to recognise the common causes of repairs and the end-user behaviours behind some technical issues. BEMCOS representatives take part in project discussions as key stakeholders, ensuring community-driven decision-making.
For example, BRIGHT's team learnt that some technicians prioritised ease of future repairs by using electric tape instead of screws or glue — a shortcut that produced sub-optimal repairs and shortened lamp lifespans. BRIGHT raised awareness among technicians on the importance of durable repairs to reduce e-waste over time.
A separate insight concerned end-user behaviour. In 2022, BRIGHT was asked to include more solar panels in the next spare parts shipment; a January 2023 field visit found the panels labelled broken were, in fact, working — the real fault was deliberately cut cables, cut so the copper wire could be sold in the informal market, or the cable modified to charge other devices directly. In response, BRIGHT began supplying barrel jack plugs to prevent misuse, a solution that was both cheaper and more sustainable than replacing panels, which carry a far higher carbon footprint than cables. The project has since gone further, working to bring informal e-waste handlers and collectors — previously operating outside the system — into the formal value chain, rather than treating them solely as a source of loss.
“We believe that this initiative could be replicated in other displacement settlements around the world. The key for success is to make the community a central part, and to understand the context dynamics." Lorena Muñoz Carmona, Head of Humanitarian Partnerships, BRIGHT
Scaling for a brighter future
The E-waste Management project has moved from pilot to full scale. Collections and repairs began in Zone 4 of the settlement; during the transition-to-scale phase the project expanded to all five zones, supported by two new permanent workshops and two tuk-tuks enabling BEMCOS to serve the entire settlement.
Plans for full scale-up include expansion to the neighbouring Rhino and Imvepi settlements. External experts will provide advanced electronics training so technicians can repair a wider range of devices, while BRIGHT continues supplying spare parts and technical support and works with IOM to quantify emissions reductions from repairs.
"We have collaborated with other actors to facilitate repair and e-waste management — for example in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh," explains Lorena. In Bidibidi, every repaired lamp reflects what refugee-led resilience and community ownership can do with the right partnership and tools behind them — a model of reduced e-waste, expanded clean energy access and green jobs that BRIGHT and IOM believe can be replicated across other displacement settings.
Interested in collaborating on our Repair Program?
BRIGHT's Repair Program demonstrates how sustainability, skill-building, partnership and community ownership can address e-waste in humanitarian settings. If your organisation shares our ambition to cut e-waste and empower displaced communities, contact our partnerships team at partnerships@bright-products.com or learn more about our partnership opportunities.
