Tech Tuesday: Bringing light to rural areas

Tech Tuesday is an on-going series profiling the Forum’s Technology Pioneers. The Tech Pioneers are companies that have been recognized by the Forum for ground-breaking and innovative approaches in tackling some of the world’s most wicked problems. Each week we will be showcasing one of the 2013 Tech Pioneers. You can learn more about the Technology Pioneer Programme on the Forum’s website.

 

Azuri Technologies: Bringing light to rural areas

An estimated 1.6 billion people in the world have no access to electric power. Their main source of light after nightfall is kerosene, which is not only toxic in enclosed spaces, but also dumps an estimated 190 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year and can cost a family mired in poverty up to 30% of its An estimated 1.6 billion people in the world have no access to electric power. Their main source of light after nightfall is kerosene, which is not only toxic in enclosed spaces, but also dumps an estimated 190 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year and can cost a family mired in poverty up to 30% of its earnings.

Azuri Technologies’ solution is to rent solar-powered lighting to poor communities at an affordable rate. Villagers, cut off from electric power, can rent an Azuri system consisting of a solar charger and two powerful LED lights. They then purchase scratch cards in a local store and send the card’s number by mobile phone SMS to Azuri’s servers, which return an SMS with a code that unlocks the system for a designated rental period. A week’s power can cost as little as US$ 1.25. A bonus is that the system can also charge a mobile phone. Azuri’s basic kit can keep the lights on for up to eight hours. The company’s Chief Executive Officer Simon Bransfield-Garth says that a typical routine is to use the light for four hours at night and then for another two hours in the early morning. Four thousand sets have been sold in Kenya so far and Azuri plans to boost those sales to 20,000 sets across Kenya, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa soon. Eventually the system will be offered in other developing countries, including India. One immediate effect of the system’s availability in Kenya is that school students spend an additional two-and-a-half hours a night doing homework. By drastically reducing the cost of basic lighting, Azuri hopes to help isolated villages escape poverty and begin to enjoy some of the advantages of 21st-century living.

 

Simon Bransfield-Garth, Chief Executive Officer
Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom
Number of Employees: 13
Year Founded: 2010

Azuri Technologies Ltd
St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road
Cambridge, CB4 0WS
United Kingdom

+44 1424 464 801
info@azuri-technologies.com
www.azuri-technologies.com