There are millions of people in need of hearing aids in Africa and getting them there and keeping them working presents an amazing number of challenges. Consider the basic math on the batteries. The batteries go fast and can cost up to $1 — with the average wage of people in the country as low as $1 a day.
Howard Weinstein, a business man from Calgary, decided to face this challenge as a way to make money and do some good at the same time. On a trip to Africa, standing under the hot sun, he had his idea: inexpensive rechargeable solar batteries.
After contacting various CEOs for advice, and receiving a small grant, Weinstein partnered with Sound Design to come up with the SolarAid hearing aid. It looks like a normal hearing aid, but runs on cheap rechargeable batteries that run on solar power.
Starting with very little, SolarAid is now a fast-growing company with 20,000 users in 30 countries using the hearing aid. And the growth potential is enormous. The WHO estimates that over 250 million people world-wide are in need of a hearing aid — and SolarAid is ready to help them all.
