Ugandan engineers created Microfuse, a technology aimed to make computing and computers available to all Africans, particularly those living in areas with infrequent power supplies.
The motivation
The population of people who can afford computers is less than 2% and electricity is also hard to come by.
Ivan, the device’s developer, was inspired by the irritation felt by many people due to a shortage of electricity, which prevented them from using computers and by the difficulty middle-class families go through just to get a computer, and how much more low-income families.
The device is currently being tested in a school on Kampala’s outskirts.
The innovation
Stick computers are far less expensive than standard computers and require significantly less energy. The laptop, manufactured from local materials, costs $70 and can work in the continent’s most remote locations thanks to solar energy.
What else
Uganda’s computer market is in bad shape. Currently, only 2% of Ugandans have access to a computer.
So far
Ivan and his colleagues expect to have 10,000 gadgets on the market by October, but in order to be more competitive, they want to go even further and aspire for the African Continental Free Trade Area.