Africa Innovates Magazine - Flipbook - Page 35
ENERGY SOLUTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
Photo credit: Lifi-led
IN IVORY COAST
LIGHT MOBILE
CONNECTS!
In 2011, Ange Frederick Balma, an electronic
engineer, had a quite literal lightbulb moment.
He birthed the idea that light can communicate
data. His startup, Lifi-LED Côte d’Ivoire,
created in 2014, works to bring electricity and
the internet to remote villages in his country.
The startup first sets up a network of LED
lights and bulbs, which consume little energy
and produce no heat. Through these bulbs,
data can be sent to a computer or mobile.
The system of LED bulbs is powered through a
battery with a solar panel or a windmill, and the
startup modulates semi-conductors to open a
bandwidth and uses light photons to transmit
the Internet. The startup sells several products,
including bulbs, floor lamps and a solar kiosk.
This innovative company’s products feature
sensors which measure climate indicators
like pluviometry, sunlight, temperatures, fine
particles, and CO2 emissions. Over time, the
Lifi network has been increasingly used to
measure weather and climate change. This
information is useful in both preventing and
warning authorities about upcoming extreme
climate events.
The network covers over 300,000 people
through partnerships and contracts with
municipalities
and
local
authorities,
development organizations, and individuals.
“My startup offers equal
opportunities for information
access, reducing the digital and
energy gap in Africa. In this way,
we‘re contributing to global
progress.”
Ange Frédérick Balma,
Lifi-Led CEO
SHOWCASING AFRICAN CLIMATE CHAMPIONS
35
