Robert Nguma Chidzugwe
Kenya – Athel Technology
My name is , born in a humble family of 7 siblings in Kwale county. I am a graduate of Information Technology from Jomo Kenyatta University based in Kenya. I spend most of my time helping out in community work and educating youths in business modules and how best they can be able to start a business with what they have. Not many of the residence in our community had a chance to complete their education especially attending the university.
My heart is always giving back to my community and this was the start of Athel Technology being born. Residence in our village use firewood and charcoal as a form of cooking fuel which brought about respiratory illness and even death of new born babies. This affected me personally as some members in our family were casualties of the after effects of carbon emission and deforestation. With these issues, it has me an opportunity to change this traditional methods to giving me fellow communities and residence a better alternative of cooking fuel.
In 2016, through Kwale county I got an opportunity to get a grant from World Bank which enabled me to start this company which its main focus was manufacturing briquettes that gave light to communities on a better and cheap cooking fuel. The briquettes were made out of coconut husks, maize cobs and agricultural waste products.
In 2019, we invented the solar cooker “ecoMpishi” which gives community a renewable cooking solution from sunlight. The cooker not only gives fuel solution but also gives light solution during night hours when residents are cooking at home.
I believe that the solar cooker “ecoMpishi” is the answer to every residents not oly in Kenya but in Africa as it provides free cooking and light energy.