James Ndekezi and Israel Nishimwe are the brains behind Kwaanda Lab, a local company that was founded to solve social issues using technology. The project deals in wireless power transfer, and aims at supplying electricity in an easier, faster, and affordable manner. The two young entrepreneurs drew their inspiration from research they conducted and found out that Rwandans face issues of short-circuits and electric shocks. It is this idea that birthed the wireless charging system in 2015. James Ndekezi (the company’s co-founder) converts electricity into wireless system. With Rwf5,000 they started a company that now has grown to have branches in different city suburbs like Kanombe, Kabeza, and Rubirizi, all in Kicukiro District. Ndekezi is 19 and holds a Diploma in General Mechanics while Nishimwe is 22 and pursued a Diploma in Electronics and Telecommunication. How wireless charging works Nishimwe said that inductive, charging also known as wireless charging or cordless charging system, uses an electromagnetic field to transfer energy between two objects through electromagnetic induction. This is usually done with a charging station. Energy is sent through an inductive coupling to an electrical device, which can then use that energy to charge batteries or run the device. Israel Nishimwe tryies to convert electricity into the magnetic field to enable wireless charging. He added that, with the help of the smart table, they make charging easy, fun and convenient, by turning furniture into charging pots. Nishimwe explained; “We required making charging a natural part of homes that is why we chose side tables and lamps.” The kind of furniture that’s used frequently is turned it into wireless chargers. Not only does the furniture make your home more beautiful, they make it easier to charge from wherever you are. He stressed that the table is set in a way that once you place any electronic device on top, it automatically starts charging and also the table sends the data to cloud and back to the gadget to notify the owner of the gadget whether the phone is charging, full or still charging. They say, through using the smart table, the use of the separate chargers and cables of electronic devices used in homes is eliminated and electricity is saved because there are no losses during the charging time. When the chargers are no longer in use they’re thrown or burnt which cause pollutions but this smart table is environmental friendly and it is clean because there’re no disgusting cables and chords around the table which can sometimes lead to electrical shock, they added. The duo can charge mobile phones wirelessly, laptop and installation for wireless electricity without any cable or wire. Achievements Today, the two say that they can make wireless power installations without any cable or wire. They can power electronic devices wirelessly like smart phones, reading lamp among other gadgets. They sell each charger at Rwf 7,000. Transmitter at Rwf 5,000 and receiver at Rwf 2,000. They have about 50 to 60 clients per month. Future plans They plan to supply electricity from source to station and up to the user wirelessly which is affordable, easy and highly efficient. Challenges Some of the challenges we are facing in wireless power transfer are; having a big market which we can’t satisfy now, we also lack enough investment and raw materials, Nishimwe explained. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
