{"id":560,"date":"2014-02-11T09:23:51","date_gmt":"2014-02-11T13:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/?p=560"},"modified":"2014-02-11T09:23:51","modified_gmt":"2014-02-11T13:23:51","slug":"mpowerd-lantern-brings-affordable-solar-sub-saharan-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/2014\/02\/11\/mpowerd-lantern-brings-affordable-solar-sub-saharan-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"MPOWERD Lantern Brings Affordable Solar to Sub-Saharan Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was originally posted on\u00a0Triple Pundit\u00a0<\/a>on January 7th, 2014 by, Kerry Sinclair<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jacques-Phillippe Piverger likes to say that his company,\u00a0MPOWERD<\/a>, is \u201ceradicating energy poverty through solar justice.\u201d He is doing this despite the fact that the old guard in business tends to believe that \u201cit\u2019s not possible to do good, and do well.\u201d MPOWERD is challenging that standard with grace. This startup, just 15 months old, already has a product jumping off the shelves \u2013 shedding light on the energy market.<\/p>\n

Sleek-looking Luci, the solar lantern, is turning heads in firms across sub-Saharan Africa and capturing the interest of international distributors. The design of this portable powerhouse differentiates her from other lanterns on the market, just as MPOWERD\u2019s integrated distribution model sets it apart as a social enterprise. Combine design and networked distribution with a low price point ($14.95), determined to get lower, and you have an MPOWERD business.<\/p>\n

Conversations with co-founders, Piverger\u00a0and his partner John Salzinger, make clear that they see the business as a driver for social and \"Africa\"<\/a>economic change, as well as a profitable entity. According to Salzinger, firms in Africa that pay up front for the product bolster manufacturing and help to give Luci a price advantage at home. This, in turn, creates retail visibility within the U.S. market.<\/p>\n

When asked which market was the bread and butter for MPOWERD, the reply is \u00a0\u201cwell, both\u2026they work together right now.\u201d The integrated model helps MPOWERD \u00a0keep its own lights on, while battling energy poverty in many locales. Piverger is adamant that his company and this product operate from a triple bottom line: social, environmental and economic factors. These same goals drive this energetic man to promote the company broadly. And it\u2019s working. Luci is currently on back-order for 100,000 units to retailers worldwide, in addition to the 100,000 units already sold. The retail network boomed from zero to 60 within six months. No big deal? It\u2019s sure refuting its critics.<\/p>\n

Luci is a little thing. She\u2019s made of clear plastic and weighs only 4 ounces, but she packs a nice punch. Ten thousand tiny LEDs provide 15 square feet of light that lasts for six to 10 hours on a full eight-hour charge. Just like the adage that recommends not messing with little people, Luci has managed to enable a drop in violent crimes against women, alleviate health problems related to kerosene and reduce the number of kerosene-related fires, while helping increase productivity and education for the 1.7 billion people who live off the energy grid worldwide. All because it gives a little more light.<\/p>\n

Luci came to the rescue in New York and New Jersey during Hurricane Sandy and helps keep the energy bill down during normal times. Indeed, Luci doesn\u2019t see borders; she just goes where she\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n

Of course, this rising enterprise didn\u2019t drop onto the earth as a fully formed productive force. Piverger and Salzinger needed help from their \u201csolar system\u201d of stakeholders. Like any\u00a0B-corp<\/a>, MPOWERD needs folks to have faith. It has worked with one foundation and has given a few faithful individuals the opportunity to invest in the company. Just as the sun fuels the earth, MPOWERD\u2019s stakeholders enabled this fledging enterprise to shine. In a\u00a0recent article<\/a>\u00a0for the Huffington Post, Piverger explains that his company will continue to grow based on its ability to affect change in the world, developing and developed.<\/p>\n

By wielding our market power along with cutting-edge technologies, we in the social innovation field are using business to create significant global change\u2026In places where energy services are inaccessible\u2014whether due to deficient infrastructure, high costs, or emergency conditions\u2014Luci is a dependable source of light.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

MPOWERD\u2019s partners agree. Alliances with\u00a0A New Course<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Amazon Conservation Association<\/a>promote aid to communities in Tanzania and Peru, respectively. Moving beyond financial donations, these partnerships deliver entrepreneurship for women in Tanzania and conservation for marginalized communities in Peru. Developing a business in the U.S. can look like magic. Creating opportunities for people in places with less access to renewable resources requires the foresight to know that giving is getting. MPOWERD\u2019s campaign encourages customers to donate Luci to their partners at a discounted price.<\/p>\n

MPOWERD may look quirky to the status-quo, but positive acknowledgement by international organizations and media, including CNBC, Brazil\u2019s Globo and the UN, requires that critics of the \u201cdo good, and do well\u201d paradigm sit down and listen up. MPOWERD\u2019s co-founders are demonstrating a different approach from the business world of 50 years ago. Blending sense and intuition, this new style of making money aids the argument that sustainability is not a trend, but a new standard in doing business.<\/p>\n

Image credit:\u00a0MPOWERD<\/a><\/p>\n

Kerry Sinclair<\/b>\u00a0is an MBA candidate at Bard College, MBA in Sustainability. She is happy to be writing about the good fight.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article was originally posted on\u00a0Triple Pundit\u00a0on January 7th, 2014 by, Kerry Sinclair Jacques-Phillippe Piverger likes to say that his company,\u00a0MPOWERD, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":253,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/253"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=560"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":563,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560\/revisions\/563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bard.edu\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}