Spark Possibilities

Project Overview

Spark Possibilities provides off-grid solar energy products that light homes, power businesses and extend home comforts. A certified B Corporation, they have opened offices across rural Kenya, bringing clean, reliable energy to communities that need it most.We've been proud to work alongside Spark Possibilities for many years, growing with them as their business has evolved. What began as a brand and digital engagement has become a long-term partnership, with our team acting as an extension of theirs. From market research and brand strategy through to UI/UX design and website development, we've helped shape a brand presence that reflects the impact they make on the ground.

Our core focus:

Website Design & Building Brand Development Systems

Beyond the core work, we've become a trusted support system for the Spark Possibilities team, a constant sounding board for new ideas, challenges and opportunities as they arise. We've equipped their team with social media training so they can confidently tell their own story, and continue to support the development of new brand assets, graphics and materials as their needs grow.

Core tasks

Social Media Training

Customer Alignment

WebFlow Development

Wireframing

UI/UX Design

Brand Communications

Key challenges

Building a brand that resonated across rural Kenya and with global investors required Spark Possibilities to communicate in a way that felt authentic to every audience it served.

Through our initial consultations, we understood that respecting different cultures and local purchasing habits would be pivotal, alongside creating consistency across every touch-point. Designing for limited connectivity and older devices also meant keeping the experience simple, lightweight and accessible, without losing the warmth and credibility of the brand.

Website Design

The website needed to strike a careful balance between the different personas who would use it, speaking to customers while also celebrating the team behind the brand. Following stakeholder interviews to understand their mission and story, we directed the photography and videography, working closely with local vendors in Kenya to capture it authentically. Featuring the team's own names and stories gave them real pride and motivation, creating a website that puts people first and brings Spark's grassroots impact to life.

Social Media Training

For Spark Possibilities, building a consistent social presence meant empowering the team to create content themselves, rather than relying on outside support. We held weekly interviews to coordinate content and keep ideas flowing, alongside seminars teaching the team the core concepts of social media, from storytelling to planning. This hands-on approach sparked genuine interest and ownership across the team, building the confidence and consistency needed to share Spark's story and grassroots impact on their own terms.

Product UI

Beyond the public-facing brand, Spark Possibilities relied on internal software products to manage their day-to-day operations, and the user experience wasn't keeping pace with the business. We redesigned the branding within the software itself, bringing it in line with the wider Spark identity, and created new user interface designs to make each tool clearer and easier to use. Working closely with their developer team, we coordinated the implementation of these changes, giving staff tools that feel as considered as the brand they represent.

Defining the customers

With an established customer base already in place, our focus turned inward. It was important to understand the Spark team, their core values and the culture they had built, so we could find the right ways to present it to the world. Conducting stakeholder interviews and workshops gave us a genuine picture of what makes Spark different, and helped facilitate internal conversations about how their people and values should come through in everything they share. Understanding their culture helped us to:

- Shape design decisions that influenced the look and feel of the brand.
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- Tell authentic team and customer stories across the website.
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- Build a consistent, confident approach to social media content.
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- Improve the interface and experience of their internal software.

Persona Building

Persona 1 - Kevin Otieno
Persona 2 - Esther Wambui
Persona 3 - Sarah Mitchell

Kevin Otieno

Kevin is a potential Field Sales Representative for Spark Possibilities, covering villages and trading centres across rural Kisumu County.

27 Year Old
Male

Single

Field Sales Representative

Kisumu County, Kenya

Goals

Kevin wants to hit his monthly sales targets consistently and grow his commission so he can support his family and save for the future. He's ambitious and hopes to progress into a team lead role within the next two years.

Influences

Kevin is shaped by the respect he earns in the communities he serves, and by recommendations from local leaders, chiefs and satisfied customers. He's also motivated by recognition from his managers and seeing colleagues celebrated for their achievements.

Frustration

Many of his customers have been let down by cheap solar products that broke within months, which makes them sceptical from the first conversation. Long travel distances and patchy mobile signal also make it hard to follow up and close sales quickly.

Personality

Kevin is outgoing, patient and a natural storyteller who builds trust through face-to-face conversation. He takes pride in the fact that his work genuinely improves people's lives, and wants to be seen as a trusted advisor rather than just a salesman.

Technology

Kevin uses an Android smartphone for almost everything, from WhatsApp groups with customers and colleagues to M-Pesa for payments. He relies on the company's internal tools to log sales and track leads, often with limited data.

Design Preferences

Kevin prefers simple, fast-loading tools that work on low data and don't require lots of typing in the field. Clear visuals, large buttons and content he can easily show customers on his phone make the biggest difference to his day.

Esther Wambui

Esther runs a small general store in a rural trading centre in Meru County, where she lives with her husband and three children.

38 Year Old
Female

Married for
14 years

Shop
Owner

Meru County,
Kenya

Goals

Esther wants reliable lighting so she can keep her shop open later into the evening and increase her daily income. She also wants her children to be able to study safely at night without relying on kerosene lamps.

Influences

Word of mouth from neighbours, church members and fellow traders shapes nearly every purchase Esther makes. She's far more likely to buy from someone she has met in person and who is known and trusted in her community.

Frustration

Kerosene is expensive, smoky and a constant worry with young children in the house. She has seen neighbours buy solar products that stopped working quickly, with no one to help fix them, so she worries about wasting money she can't afford to lose.

Personality

Esther is hardworking, practical and careful with money, weighing every purchase against her family's needs. Once she trusts a product and the person selling it, she becomes a loyal customer and an enthusiastic advocate.

Technology

Esther uses a basic smartphone mainly for calls, WhatsApp and M-Pesa, which she uses daily for her shop. She rarely browses the web but will watch videos shared with her by friends or a sales representative.

Design preferences

Esther responds to real photos of people and homes like hers rather than polished stock imagery. She prefers simple language, clear pricing and visuals that show exactly what a product does in everyday life.

Sarah Mitchell

Sarah is a Partner at a Toronto-based impact investment fund focused on climate and energy access ventures across Sub-Saharan Africa.

52 Year Old
Female

Married for
22 years

Partner, Impact Investment Fund

Toronto,
Canada

Goals

Sarah wants to identify climate ventures that can scale sustainably while delivering measurable social and environmental impact. She needs to build a portfolio she can confidently report on to her limited partners at the end of each year.

Influences

Credible impact frameworks, B Corp certification and verifiable metrics such as carbon reduction carry significant weight in Sarah's decisions. She also relies on insight from co-investors, sector networks and on-the-ground partners she already trusts.

Frustration

Too many ventures present bold impact claims without the data or governance to back them up. Being based thousands of miles away also makes it difficult to judge company culture and see how a business really operates day to day.

Personality

Sarah is analytical and measured, but genuinely driven by the belief that capital can create lasting change. She asks probing questions about people and leadership, knowing that the strength of a team often matters more than the business plan.

Technology

Sarah works from a MacBook and iPad, moving between data rooms, Zoom calls and LinkedIn throughout the week. She often reviews a company's website first to form an early impression before any formal conversation takes place.

Design preferences

Sarah values clean, professional design that puts impact data and key metrics front and centre. Authentic photography of the team and communities helps her trust that the story being told is real.

Empathy Maps

Persona 1 - Kevin Otieno
Persona 2 - Esther Wambui
Persona 3 - Sarah Mitchell

Thinks

"If I can show them real results from people they know, the sale will follow."
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"I want to be known as someone who helps, not someone who just sells."
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"If I keep performing, I can grow within this company."

Does

Kevin visits customers in person, often demonstrating products in homes, shops and community gatherings to build trust.

He uses WhatsApp groups to share photos, videos and testimonials with prospects and follow up after visits.
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He attends team training sessions and shares tips with newer colleagues on how to handle common objections.

Says

"People here need to see it working before they believe in it."

"If one customer is happy, the whole village will hear about it."

"When I saw my story on the website, I shared it with everyone I know."

Feels

Kevin feels a strong sense of responsibility to the communities he sells to, knowing that many families are trusting him with money they've worked hard for.

He's proud to represent a company that values its people, but feels the pressure of monthly targets alongside long days on the road. Being recognised by Spark gives him confidence and a real sense of belonging.

Thinks

"If I can keep the shop open longer, this will pay for itself."

"I need to see someone like me using it before I decide."

"I want my children to breathe clean air at home."

Does

Esther asks neighbours and fellow traders about their experiences before considering any new product.

She pays for everyday essentials through M-Pesa and carefully tracks what she spends each week.

She watches product videos shared by the sales representative and discusses the purchase with her husband before committing.

Says

"I don't want to waste money on something that will break."

"My neighbour has one and her children study every night now."

"If there's a problem, who will come and help me?"

Feels

Esther feels the daily strain of balancing her shop's income with the needs of her family, and every purchase feels like a big decision.

She's hopeful that clean, reliable light could change her evenings and her children's future, but that hope is tempered by past disappointments in her community.

Trust in the person selling matters as much as the product itself.

Thinks

"B Corp certification is a strong start, but I need to see how it plays out day to day."

"A company that invests in its people is more likely to last."

"I need numbers I can confidently report back to my partners."

Does

Sarah reviews a company's website, impact reports and team pages before scheduling a first call.

She requests data on customer growth, retention and carbon reduction during due diligence.

She speaks with co-investors and local partners in Kenya to validate what she's been told about the business.

Says

"Show me the impact data, not just the story."

"I invest in teams first, then the business model."

"How does this scale beyond the regions you're in today?"

Feels

Sarah feels a genuine sense of purpose in backing ventures that tackle climate change and energy poverty together.

She's excited by the potential across East Africa, but cautious after seeing well-intentioned companies struggle to scale or prove their impact.

Being so far from the ground makes her rely heavily on the signals a company gives about its culture and credibility.

Website Wireframing

Our objective:

Wireframing the structure of the website was our first step, creating a solid foundation for how the brand would be presented online. By mapping out each page and user journey early, we could test how Spark's story, values and people would flow across the site before any visual design began. Following discussions with key stakeholders, this structure became the basis for the brand experience we brought to life.

Website Design

Our objective:

With the wireframes approved, we moved into Figma to bring the website's visual design to life. We developed high-fidelity designs for each page, applying Spark's brand colours, typography and imagery to create a look that felt warm, authentic and true to their culture. After a range of discussions with key stakeholders, we refined the designs together, ensuring every page reflected the people and purpose at the heart of Spark.

WebFlow Design

Our objective:

Once the Figma designs were signed off, we built the website in Webflow, translating every detail into a fully responsive experience across desktop, tablet and mobile. We set up a CMS so the Spark team could easily publish news, updates and stories themselves, keeping the site fresh and relevant. The result is a website that is simple to manage, fast to load and true to the brand.

Social Media Training

Our objective:

To help Spark build a consistent social presence, we delivered hands-on training that empowered the team to create content themselves. Bi-weekly interviews kept ideas flowing and content coordinated, while seminars introduced the core concepts of social media, from storytelling to planning. This approach sparked genuine interest across the team, giving them the confidence and skills to share Spark's story and grassroots impact on their own terms.

Product UI Enhancements

Our objective:

As a separate engagement, Spark asked us to redesign the software product they use to manage their internal processes. We refreshed the branding within the product itself, bringing it in line with the wider Spark identity, and created new user interface designs to make it clearer and easier to use. Working closely with their developer team, we coordinated the implementation, giving staff a tool that reflects the brand they represent.

Final Throughts

Project Summary

Working with Spark Possibilities has been a rewarding journey that has grown over many years. The team's openness and passion for their mission made it easy to get to the heart of what makes Spark special: its people, its values and its grassroots impact. From the website and on-the-ground photography to social media training and the redesign of their internal software, we've helped bring consistency to every touch-point. Along the way, we've become a trusted sounding board and support system, and we're proud to continue helping Spark share its story with the world.

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