Nuru rural energy, Rwanda
Nuru Energy seeks to develop its manufacturing and distribution of Portable lights and PowerCycle recharging mechanisms to India to provide a sustainable and safe alternative to kerosene lighting.
Nuru Energy spent many years pioneering and then refining, a sustainable, off-grid solution that catalyzes rural entrepreneurship within the village while at the same time allows the poorest of the poor to access the energy that they so desperately need to help them escape from poverty.
Nuru Energy specifically targets households that live below the poverty line, which are defined as households earning less than $1.50 per day. These are households that are either unwilling or unable to purchase the most basic stand-alone solar lamp or home solar system.
The business is based on three key elements:
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Portable lights - Portable and inexpensive
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Recharging mechanism - The POWERCycle is the world's first commercially available pedal generator
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Distribution methodology - Because the POWERCycle can recharge lights quickly, it can serve as a potentially lucrative income-generating asset in the hands of a Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) who earns money through the sale and recharging of lights.
Nuru Energy has setup 1,000 village level recharging businesse. 120,000 of the word's poorest households now have access to clean energy.