Problem:

The Internet is not always available rural communities in Third World countries.

Solution:

In 2016 a team led by Rodolphe Rosier in Senegal developed an off-grid access system for 600 million Africans.

Called SOLARBOX50 it combines solar energy and digital home systems (SDHS) and is a crossover between traditional solar home systems (SHS) and set-top boxes. A typical SDHS device (solar box) comes with a 50W solar panel, 3 LED lamps, a 19-inch TV set and an embedded Internet connection for domestic use and for IPTV; all for a monthly subscription fee.

Joined by Michael Hernandez, the renamed OniriQ was improved from a traditional design model to a design that resulted in savings and increased data redundancy. Like every startup, OniriQ experienced difficulties raising money, especially for hardware development.

But following the completion of the first set of working prototypes and the warm reception from testing at Ounck, a rural community 370 mi. (600 km.) from Dakar, the team behind OniriQ got the needed motivation to keep on pushing. While it is still seeking fund to enable it attain 5,000 units of production, ten were deployed in homes of influencers and local personalities in the community where testing was carried out, with financing from an NGO named Energy Foundation for the World. OniriQ’s plan is to export its solar kits to seven African countries, available on the micro company’s internet platform

Discover Solution 346: Prefabricated Plastic Road

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