A Chinese entrepreneur in Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong Province, is bringing light and opportunity to communities across Africa by combining advanced solar technology with Shenzhen's manufacturing strength.
Chinese entrepreneur Li Xia runs Shenzhen Power-Solution Ind Co., an enterprise dedicated to the development of new energy products. The solar-powered lamps produced by the company have already brightened homes in more than 40 African countries.
Li said the inspiration behind them stems from her own childhood experience.
"I was still using kerosene lamps during my childhood, because we also didn't have access to electricity. When I [got to] Africa, I see they have the same problems, so that helped me a lot to bring real and practical solutions," she said.
Li said she visited a lot of farmers in Africa, and was told that the maximum affordability they could pay for a lamp one time is five U.S. dollars.
Creating a 5-dollar solar lamp was a major challenge. But through localization and smart design, Li's team found a way.
"This product, we call it 'Candles Killer'. It's only organized by nine parts, one screw only. We just make a very simple design of a hook which can hook on the water bottles as a stand, to make it within the range of five dollars," Li said.
Li’s vision extends far beyond lighting homes. Since 2020, her company has developed 'Solar Media', a solar-powered tablet preloaded with educational videos, delivering knowledge and opportunity to villages that lack electricity.
"In 16 years we already helped more than 6 million families access energy, which benefits about 60 million people," Li said.
Chinese entrepreneur dedicated to providing affordable solar-powered devices to African market
Chinese entrepreneur dedicated to providing affordable solar-powered devices to African market
