The Soular Backpack

The Soular Backpack is a social business startup that enables children in rural parts of Africa to study every night without the use, cost and health effects of the carcinogenic kerosene lamp. Today, families living under $1 a day spend 25% of monthly income on kerosene, despite the fact that it is expensive and causes numerous health complications. Entire villages and communities burn down every year due to kerosene lamps being knocked over, resulting in deaths daily. The Soular Backpack has a solar panel on it and as a child walks to school every day, they are collecting the sun's energy in order to power their studies through the night by the LED lamp that comes with the backpack. Join us in our vision to ensure that every child has access to light that not only allows them to study every night, but also enables them to take charge of their own education and their was raised through a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo between November 2014 and January 2015, which is being used to distribute the first Soular backpacks in areas in East Africa including the Kibera Slums in Kenya and the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Sudan. Recent work was noticed by TechVibes, Forbes Magazine, CBC & CTV News, TED Talks, Venture Burn & The McGill Reporter, and has been presented to HRH Princess Anne of the UK and Professor Muhamad Yunus. The Soular Backpack has also been awarded "Innovation of the Year" by McGill University, the Gretta Chambers from the Dobson Cup Startup Competition in the Social Enterprise Category, and has been selected as a semi-finalist in the Forbes $1 Million to Change the World Competition, as well as a finalist in the Harvard Innovation Competition, and the Gifted Citizen Distinction.