Bringing Affordable, Renewable Lighting to Sierra Leone | Data Science Institute
▻http://datascience.columbia.edu/bringing-affordable-renewable-lighting-sierra-leone
The West Africa nation of Sierra Leone has one of the lowest electrification rates on the planet. When night falls, most of the country turns to battery-powered flashlights or kerosene lamps to cook and read.
Amid these challenging conditions, social entrepreneurs at Columbia Univesrity see opportunity. A team of students is developing plans to bring low-cost, solar-powered energy to Sierra Leone. Through their startup, Azimuth Solar, they hope to offer solar-powered lamps, payable in installments on a mobile phone, to millions of people with no access to credit or a conventional grid.