A $10 device to light the way for power-starved African communities
Thousands of villagers in Africa will soon crank up a UAEmade power bank that will light up their corner shops and homes in power-starved neighbourhoods.
With one year to go before Expo 2020 Dubai opens, the commitment to create change is clearly visible through projects that will transform lives.
By harnessing energy to create change, the $10 (Dh36.73) LED light promises to brighten lives in cities and villages, helping children in Nigeria and Zimbabwe study after dusk and small shop owners run their businesses late into the night.
Being prepared for market by a group of five engineering and management graduates from the American University of Sharjah, the U-Light has received more than 20,000 orders in Africa.
The product, which is supported by Expo 2020 Dubai, is in its final stage of development.
“We have targeted off-grid communities in rural areas, where people don’t have access to reliable electricity, to give them a solution to generate their own power using our hand-cranked technology,” said Omar Mohamed Ghanem, 23, co-founder of the U-Light university project that has matured into a start-up.
For every minute the handwound device is turned, it provides light for up to 10 minutes.
A full charge of 16.5 minutes provides up to 2.5 hours of light on low-power mode or 66 minutes on high mode.
The device has generated interest due to its low cost, compared to solar-powered products selling at more than double the price in overseas markets.
“We are first looking at [areas] where children drop out of school since they cannot cope with studies as they cannot study at night,” Mr Ghanem said.
“A worker loses income every day because he has to close his shop after the sun goes down because it is too dark for him to sell. Now a family that lived with a kerosene lamp or candle can sit down with a light at the dinner table.”
There has also been interest in India and Pakistan where communities struggle with power cuts.
The device, which has USB outlets, can also charge mobile devices. However, the initial focus of the project will be to address basic power concerns.
“We will first try to get people out of energy poverty,” said Mr Ghanem, 23, who graduated with a management degree from AUS last year.
The team of mechanical, electrical, chemical and civil engineers ran a pilot programme in Kano, Nigeria, that reached 200 people in shanties in August last year. They realised more demand for the smaller unit instead of the $18 to $20 larger version that generates more than 15 hours of light from a 45-minute charge.
“We got more interest from people who said they would rather pay less, so we entered the market with that mindset to be a simple, affordable and reliable solution,” he said.
Reliability is a key factor for people from impoverished communities since U-Light comes with a minimum guarantee of one year. The guarantee stretches to three years if the battery is discharged properly as per the instructions.
About 840 million people live without electricity, according to United Nations figures, and families spend their budget on kerosene lamps that pose serious risk of fires and pulmonary diseases, as per the World Health Organisation.
The young team was among college students from across the country selected in a university innovation programme, part of an Expo Live initiative that identifies innovators who address the world’s pressing problems.
“U-Light is a great example of what we hoped for but never really knew would happen to a group of UAE students,” said Yousuf Luiz Caires, vice president of Expo Live.
The programme launched by Expo 2020 Dubai funds solutions to improve lives and help preserve the planet.
“It is great to see this transition from the university project to entrepreneurs taking place.”
The advice went beyond a Dh50,000 grant and through mentoring, the new graduates were connected with other startups and organisations from across the world dealing with impoverished communities.
The team first conceptualised the project when they were competing for the Hult Prize, one of the world’s best known social entrepreneurship programmes that challenges university students to solve tough issues – from food and energy shortages to education and health care.
U-Light was among the top six in a global field of more than 20,000 university teams last year.
The team was driven by the desire to make an impact.
“We started asking whether it was really worth waiting for technology to develop in the future or can we provide something now,” Mr Ghanem said.
“Our mission is to be part of the drive to end energy poverty. You cannot tell people who don’t have access to power that they need to wait for reliable electricity to reach them.”
The work has changed their lives too.
“This broadens your perspective about the kind of life you want to live,” Mr Ghanem said.
“It shows the impact you can have on the world no matter who you are, where you live or where you are from. Life does not have to be all about making money, we can have an impact from the very beginning because there is so much we can do.”