{"id":10689,"date":"2015-10-15T07:10:28","date_gmt":"2015-10-15T07:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/?p=10689"},"modified":"2016-11-28T16:29:26","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T16:29:26","slug":"kenyan-invention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/kenyan-invention","title":{"rendered":"3 Kenyan Students Invented A System That Could Revolutionize Rural Transportation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"a6b39195b99473d6c9dd698db2668010\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:2px 0 2px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<center>\r\n\r\n<script type='text\/javascript'>\r\nfunction ShorterThan(widthMax) {\r\n                if (screen.width < widthMax) {return true;}  \r\n                else {return false}\r\n    }\r\nvar LimitWidth = 728\r\nvar MobileZoneID = 348996\r\nvar DesktopZoneID = 348995   \r\n<!--\/\/<![CDATA[\r\n   document.MAX_ct0 ='';\r\n   var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?':'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?');\r\n   var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999);\r\n   document.write (\"<scr\"+\"ipt type='text\/javascript' src='\"+m3_u);\r\n   if (ShorterThan(LimitWidth)) {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+MobileZoneID);} else {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+DesktopZoneID);}\r\n   document.write(\"&nodis=1\");\r\n   document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r);\r\n   if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write (\"&exclude=\" + document.MAX_used);\r\n   document.write (document.charset ? '&charset='+document.charset : (document.characterSet ? '&charset='+document.characterSet : ''));\r\n   document.write (\"&loc=\" + escape(window.location));\r\n   if (document.referrer) document.write (\"&referer=\" + escape(document.referrer));\r\n   if (document.context) document.write (\"&context=\" + escape(document.context));\r\n   if ((typeof(document.MAX_ct0) != 'undefined') && (document.MAX_ct0.substring(0,4) == 'http')) {\r\n       document.write (\"&ct0=\" + escape(document.MAX_ct0));\r\n   }\r\n   if (document.mmm_fo) document.write (\"&mmm_fo=1\");\r\n   document.write (\"'><\/scr\"+\"ipt>\");\r\n\/\/]]>--><\/script>\r\n<\/center>\n<\/div>\n<p>Recently, the phenomenon of motorcycle taxis has become increasingly popular\u00a0around the world. Kenya is one of the countries where they figure among the preferred means of transportations. According to The World Health Organization, between 2005 and 2011, motorcycle registrations in Kenya increased almost 40-fold.\u00a0Three students invented a device that could make most motorbike owner&#8217;s lives easier.<\/p>\n<h2>Tackling an important problem<\/h2>\n<p>Motorbikes usually run on polluting and expensive fossil fuels. A World Health Organization survey of 2012\u00a0estimated that air pollution causes 176 000 premature deaths a year in Africa.\u00a0Charles Ogingo, Robert Achoge and James Ogola,\u00a0three final year students enrolled at the University of Nairobi, invented a system that\u00a0captures \u00a0and stores solar energy. The system\u00a0called Ecotran\u00a0is then used to charge a motorcycle\u2019s electric motor.\u00a0Ecotran will provide lower operating costs while benefiting the environment.\u00a0The students, who opened a company called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pfoofypower.org\/\">Pfoofy<\/a>, and are trying to provide\u00a0affordable transportation to the rural communities in Kenya with their plug-in electric scooters.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10692\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10692\" style=\"width: 702px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-10692\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/10\/bodaboda.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"702\" height=\"354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/10\/bodaboda.jpg 595w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/10\/bodaboda-85x43.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10692\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessdailyafrica.com\/image\/view\/-\/1937134\/medRes\/483487\/-\/maxw\/600\/-\/ey0o81\/-\/bodaboda.jpg\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">{adinserter CNP5}<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Drawing\u00a0worldwide attention<\/h2>\n<p>Pfoofy\u00a0set up a \u201cfuelling\u201d station with 40 solar photovoltaic units with a capacity of 250 watts of electricity.\u00a0The motorbikes have a small portable battery which will run for approximately 70km. The three men are currently testing the product on a fleet of 3 electric motorcycles\u00a0but are planning on rapidly scaling up their activities.\u00a0The three students\u00a0are gaining attention.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe were awarded $100 000 by the United States African Development Fund and Power Africa for the ingenious innovation. It is this money that we are now using to upscale the solar project,\u201d said\u00a0Achoge, one of Pfoofy&#8217;s co-founders.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The entrepreneurs plan on testing their product by leasing the Chinese-manufactured bikes to 40 riders. This solution has a huge development impact in Kenya since taxi motorbikes are employing thousands of young people.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10691\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10691\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-10691\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/10\/img-20140925-wa0002.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/10\/img-20140925-wa0002.jpg 573w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/10\/img-20140925-wa0002-85x64.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10691\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.changemakers.com\/node306408\/entries\/pfoofy-power-ltd\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Take a look at a Pfoofy motorbike in the video below:<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Electric motorbikes introduced to Kenya #pfoofy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bSsVv-PGw80?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/ethiopian-airplane\">SEE ALSO:\u00a0An Ethiopian Man Builds His Own Plane After Being Rejected From The Aviation Academy.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently, the phenomenon of motorcycle taxis has become increasingly popular\u00a0around the world. Kenya is one<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":10691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,110],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>3 Kenyan Students Invented A System That Could Revolutionize Rural Transportation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Between 2005 and 2011, motorcycle registrations in Kenya increased almost 40-fold.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/kenyan-invention\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Kenyan Students Invented A System That Could Revolutionize Rural Transportation\" 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