A British start-up has helped a Chinese solar power giant provide cheap, clean power across Africa.
The SM100 was designed by Manchester-based Inventid and claims to be the cheapest solar light in the world and will retail for $5 in Africa.
It was developed in collaboration with China’s Yingli and Solar Aid.
The hand-sized SM100 can run for eight hours when fully charged and is twice as bright as kerosene, The financial Times reports.
Central to the role was gathering deep insights into the lives of our diverse customers. Working closely with charities in Africa
The SM100 trialled with 9,000 families in three African countries, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia and the new light is now on sale, BBC reports.
In Africa, majority of families without access to electricity rely on Kerosene lamps which are unsafe and unhealthy. It remains the sole source of lighting for some 600 million people living without electricity.
SM100 has won a silver award in the design for society and design for sustainability categories at the European Product Design Awards.
