eChaja interview
What is eChaja? And what does it do?
Essentially it is the world’s first portable COMMERCIAL cel phone charging device that can also be used to provide lighting.
What motivated you to develop it?
Having lived in rural Africa all of my life, we are acutely aware of the hardships that people have in communicating and even when they have cel phone coverage, they often have limited or no opportunity to charge their phones. Then there is the obvious and pressing problem of rural unemployment. The e-chaja can alleviate both of these issues.
What is the purpose of eChaja?
Basically it is designed to allow the earning of income by the means of solar energy to charge celphones.
Who can uses eChaja?
Anyone who has a need to earn a living by charging of cellphones and who needs lighting.
Does one need to replace it by buying another? How long does it last?
The product has been designed to be “Africa Tough” should not need replacing for many year providing it is not abused. The product carries a 12 month unconditional guarantee on everthing except the batteries.
How can one get it? And how much is it?
The product can be ordered via the website www.echaja.com and the price will depend on whether you wish to have an agency or if you wish to purchase a single unit. The single unit price is currently R5500.00 per unit ready to start charging.
How do you define innovation?
It is the moment when experience, intelligence and opportunity meet to satisfy a need.
Why is innovation so important?
Well, without it we would still be living in the dark ages. Imagine a world without things like electricity, penicillin and other things that we take for granted. When people stop thinking, the world stagnates.
How did you spot this opportunity for innovation?
It was born out of the inventor’s need to change his business model when an event occurred that threatened the very existence of his livelihood. We have all heard the old saying that necessity is the mother of invention, this was true in this case.
How can people contact you for eChaja?
Visit our website www.echaja.com for all relevant information on the product.
