NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, October 17, 2014

The first WakaWaka product, a solar LED lamp, was designed to be a safe and affordable way to provide light to families living at the so-called ‘Base of the Pyramid’ (living on less than $2 per day), and the success of the original device led to the development of the WakaWaka Power, which added a 2200 mAh LiPo battery to provide for charging small USB devices, such as cellphones. The company’s ‘Buy one, Give one’ campaign for the WakaWaka Power raised over $700,000, and was able to underwrite the costs for about 12,000 LED lamps to go to Haitian families without electricity.

Now this solar gadget innovator is back with a new model, the WakaWaka Base, which includes either a 5,000 or 10,000 mAh battery pack, and the device is designed to be charged with the company’s 7.5 or 10 watt portable solar panel. Along with the solar panel and battery pack module, WakaWaka is also offering two small LED lamps, one of which is powered by plugging it into the Base, and one which has an internal battery that can be recharged via the panel and battery pack. The entire WakaWaka power and light first aid kit fits into a small pouch for transport and storage, and could be a great addition to an emergency preparedness kit or as offgrid travel gear.