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In this issue of The Good Stuff, the Signify Foundation celebrates a milestone of lighting 10 million lives.
AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands – The Signify Foundation announced it has passed its 2025 goal to enable access to light for over 10 million people around the world. This achievement, along with an overview of the Foundation’s work to brighten the lives of underserved communities, is presented in its 2024 Annual Report.
This year’s report tells a story of transformation – where light is not just a utility, but a catalyst for safety, learning and livelihoods. In 2024 alone, the Foundation reached over 1 million people through lighting interventions across 28 projects in 17 countries. From remote schools and healthcare clinics to villages and refugee settlements, each light helps spark change that reaches far beyond illumination.
“With the lights provided by the Signify Foundation, there is more visibility in the area, so we can spend more time outside sharing with our neighbors. It also allows us to educate children for longer, and more safely. It creates an environment where children can play, learn, and build a better future. I always remind them to take advantage of the opportunities they have, because many others do not,” shares Emiliane, caretaker at a Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) home in the Dominican Republic where lights were installed this year.
Since its inception, the Signify Foundation has been driven by its mission to enable access to light—whether providing relief in cases of humanitarian aid and disaster response or supporting competency building in underprivileged communities. In pursuing this, the Foundation leverages Signify’s expertise and knowledge to help develop and provide easily accessible, sustainable lighting systems that have a meaningful impact on people’s lives.
“We are immensely proud to have reached our goal to brighten 10 million lives with reliable access to light—a developmental enabler that is not available to more than 750 million people around the world. Looking ahead, we are committed to bring more sustainable lighting to underserved communities, building bridges and helping them to benefit from the power of light,” said Harry Verhaar, Chair of the Signify Foundation Board.
As it looks ahead to its 2030 ambition, the Foundation continues to drive opportunities, build recovery and resilience for underserved communities. In 2025 in Kenya, the Foundation is rolling out sustainability education to students and teachers—equipping them with knowledge about energy efficiency.
Beyond numbers, the 2024 annual report captures the resilience that defines the Foundation’s approach. It also offers a glimpse into what’s next: scaling through long-term effort-sharing partnerships, linking lighting interventions with youth employment, alongside initiatives to bring sustainability education into local schools.
This journey wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of the Signify Foundation partners and the broader Signify network – working together to create brighter, more hopeful futures.
The full annual report is now available at: Signify Foundation’s Annual Reports Archive | Signify Company Website
2024 impact in numbers:
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- Extending study hours and supporting teachers: Over 890 schools, children’s homes, and playgrounds were lit globally, including 14,000 LED lights donated to 720 schools in Egypt, enhancing learning for more than 117,000 students
- Illuminating rural areas, especially at night: 136 health facilities received lighting, as well as 139 villages and informal settlements with Indonesia receiving over 3,000 solar streetlights to illuminate rural areas, also reducing reliance on kerosene
- Improving safety for women and girls: In Ethiopia’s Kobe Refugee Settlement, the percentage of lit high-risk areas increased from 9.48% to 33.39%
Find more “Good Stuff” articles here on tEDmag.com.
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