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Lack of electricity is a common issue in sub-Saharan Africa, with 82% of Kenyans lacking access. The use of kerosene as a lighting source poses numerous health and environmental risks. The Soular Backpack aims to collect and store solar energy during a child's walk to school, providing a safe and sustainable solution. Three options for financial sustainability are being considered: a one-for-one model, partnership with an existing backpack company, and collaborations with corporate donors. Social impact will be assessed through metrics such as academic performance and health.
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The Backpack“Leveraging the power of the sun into creating a brighter future for every child!”
The lack of electricity remains common and detrimental in sub Saharan Africa 82% of Kenyans don’t have access to electricity By 2020, 60% of sub-Saharan Africa won’t have access to electricity yet 92% of Kenyans use kerosene as their source of light 4,000 kerosene-induced deaths occur daily worldwide Sources: Solar Aid, World Energy Outlook
Kerosene, a toxic jet fuel has effects on many different aspects of an individual’s life • Causes numerous health issues • “The fumes inhaled from kerosene in one night are equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes a day.” • Each year, many homes and entire communities burn to the ground when lamps are knocked over • Poor illumination: 2 lumens as opposed to 90 lumens from a regular bulb • Children can’t study & reduced chances of making it into secondary education • Each kerosene lamp with a weekly fuel consumption of 1L emits 100 KGS of CO2 every year • Up to 40% of monthly income is spent on kerosene in sub Saharan Africa Source: Solar-Aid, Lights for Life, Independent Research Study, The World Bank
Despite kerosene being extremely dangerous, there are basic qualities that still make it appealing to poor communities Source: Independent Research Study
Numerous ideas were considered to create a “child-centric”, safe and sustainable solution
…and will collect and store the energy of the sun on a child’s walk to school each day Average time spent walking to school each way 1.5 hours 2.5 hours in the sun 5.5 hours
Three options are now being considered to ensure financial sustainability Description 1 One-for-One Model • Demand for Wearables growing in North America • Demand for charging devices • Design a Kenyan-inspired Soular Backpack • For every one that is sold here, one is given to a child in Kenya 2 Partner with an existing backpack company • Design Soular Backpack for North America • Partner with an existing company who agrees to create a Soular Backpack • line • Proceeds go towards giving backpacks in Kenya Companies’ CSR Budgets 3 • Approach companies such as Starbucks, Provigo, etc. • Give customers an option to “round up to the next buck” or to • donate a dollar to The Soular Backpack
Social Impact will be assessed through the analysis of metrics measured on 4 key stakeholders Metrics • GPA and performance in school • Number of nights spent studying • Number of hours per night spent studying • Health Children • Number of nights they see their children studying • Amount of money spent on kerosene Parents • Number of visits to the health clinic based on respiratory issues/kerosene induced illnesses Clinicians Teachers • Issuance of homework • Academic performance
Timeline • Launch: August 2015 • Pilot Project: August 2015 – December 2015 • Distribute first 2,000 backpacks • Design The Soular Backpack for one-for-one model • Build Team • Launch baseline study • November 2014- January 2015 • Ran a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo • Exceeded goal by 25% • Took prototype to Kenya for testing • September 2014-November 2014 • Researched 28 companies • Independent research study • Designed prototype • Secured funding from the Social Economy Initiative to present the idea at the Global Social Business Summit - Mexico • January 2016 • Form partnerships with UNICEF & the UNHCR. • Secure subsidies from the Government of Kenya • Carry out social impact assessment
Cost of manufacturing Kenyan backpacks Price • $5.25 Backpack Solar Panel + Battery $6.56 $5 Shipping Duties+Taxes Lamp $1.68 Total = $18.49
Assumptions within the cashflow statement: • A social impact assessment will be conducted every year in the Kikambala village to track and evaluate the results. • The higher R&D costs in Year 1 reflect the development of technology to suit the North American market for the one-for-one model. This is due to the fact that the North American backpack will have to be extremely high-tech and the margin for error will be minimal considering its cost of $125. The following years, R&D will be used to create different variations of the product, as well as strive to continually improve the backpacks in Kenya. • Travel & Accommodation expenses rise every year as the expansion into international markets is taken into account.
Assumptions within the cashflow statement: • This cash flow statement portrays the cost of the backpacks to the beneficiaries in Kenya as $0, and adds $5 to the cost of the North American backpack. It was deemed reasonable to do so for now, due to the fact that $5 for someone who lives under a dollar a day is indeed a lot of money, equivalent to spending more than $500 on this side of the world for such a product (when comparing average wage per day in both target markets).
