I have been thinking about someday how much would the cost look like if these products can be produced in African and sold locally...
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from ToughStuff press release September 2010
ToughStuff, an international social enterprise founded by English and Dutch entrepreneurs, has today been announced as a Tech Awards Laureate 2010 for its work providing clean, affordable energy to the world’s poorest people.
Toughstuff, which started trading just 15 months ago, has already sold more than 100,000 solar power kits benefitting 380,000 low-income consumers in Eastern and Southern Africa. ToughStuff’sproducts have also been distributed to people living in temporary camps in Haiti following the earthquake.
The Tech Awards Laureate 2010 coincides with the start of Toughstuff’s plans for rapid expansion into previously untapped markets in Africa and the rest of the developing world to meet the needs of the 1.46 billion people globally without access to electricity.
ToughStuff, with offices in London, Kenya and Madagascar, has been chosen from hundreds of applicants in 50 countries to receive the Laureate from the Tech Museum in California.
The Tech Awards, sponsored by Applied Materials, Inc and other global organisations, is one of the world’s top humanitarian awards programs, recognising technical solutions that address critical issues facing theplanet and its people and that spark global change.
ToughStuff was established in 2008 by social entrepreneurs, Andrew Tanswell, who is English and based in London, and Adriaan Mol, a Dutch national living and working in Madagascar.
Andrew Tanswell believes ToughStuff ’s unique and commercial approach benefits very poor people in the most remote places in the developing world.
“On the back of our success in Kenya and Madagascar we are now planning rapid expansion across Africa, a vast unreached market. Poverty will primarily be combated through enterprise not charity. The Tech Awards laureate is a timely endorsement of our business model.”
ToughStuff is a “triple bottom line” business that achieves financial, social and environmental returns by selling solar energy solutions to the 1.46 billion people in developing countries who have no access to electricity.
ToughStuff designs and distributes robust, affordable, portable products which can weather theharsh conditions of developing countries. The products include solar panels, LED lamps and battery packs to power radios and mobile phones. These replace kerosene, candles and dry-cell batteries which are costly, polluting and damage health.
ToughStuff believes its solar products have similar growth potential in Africa as mobile phones. In Africa alone over $27 billion is spent on sources of energy such as kerosene, candles, batteries and mobile phone charging in areas where there is no electricity.
Adriaan Mol, Madagascar-based Operations Director, said: “ToughStuff products cut the cost of light and power so people have more money to spend on food, education, health and enterprise. That’s why ToughStuff products are in huge demand, and appear to be following a similar growth trajectory to that of mobile phones. We have enormous numbers of potential customers.”
ToughStuff has developed innovative distribution systems to get products to remote settlements.or example, through a “Business in a Box” program Village Solar Entrepreneurs sell and hire out solar panels and chargers. The scheme has already attracted Dutch Government funding.
George Gitau, ToughStuff’s Kenya-based East African manager, said: “The success of ToughStuff in Kenya and Madagascar shows we have a winning formula which customers love. Our plans to grow our business rapidly will increase the number of people who we can help improve their lives and save money.”
Tech Awards laureates are selected by a prestigious panel of international judges organised by the Centre for Science, Technology and Society at Santa Clara University, California.
Peter Friess, president of the Tech Museum, said: “The global challenges of the day have become increasingly strident, more deeply rooted.
“Still there is hope. These incredibly impressive laureates have all proven to be equal to, or better than, the challenge to make the world a better place. By celebrating their accomplishments today, we are encouraging future innovators to work toward solutions to make the world healthier, safer and more sustainable.”
The Tech Awards laureate will be formally bestowed at a Gala hosted by the Tech Museum in San Jose on November 6. ToughStuff will also find out at the Gala if it is one of the five laureates whowill also receive a $50,000 cash prize. If successful, ToughStuff will use the prize money to provide emergency kits to large-scale crises including the Pakistan floods and the Haiti earthquake.
Ends Notes to Editors
Contact Information
www.ToughStuffonline.org
Roger Hattam +44 (0) 20 72610983 +44 7768 801174 (m) Roger.hattam@ToughStuffonline.com
Ros Dawson +44 (0) 1274 561241 +44 7720 882512 (m) ros@rosdawsonmedia.co.uk
To receive a sample ToughStuff solar panel and LED lamp or for high resolution
photographs and videos, please contact the above.
HI... the answer is sadly quite a lot more. The scale and general quality of factories in the Far East is a long way ahead of most parts of Africa. So ToughStuff bring benefit to Africa through more affordable products to customers, and through the jobs created in sales and promotion. ToughStuff also runs a solar entrepreneur programme which creates an opportunity for a decent living wage in selling the product
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