Making Something from Nothing
~Samuel Moses Elba
Sierra Leone
What is your Project/organization you are working on?
Sustainable electricity. Spark light energy, it is an innovative clean-tech startup company which harnesses waste respectfully to provide clean access to electrons of light. By using heat, naturally from vibration. Providing access to electron supply for people living in rural communities, not only in Sierra Leone but for Africa because plastic waste is developing more and more every year.
People would throw their plastic waste on the beach with bins being everywhere so there is no need for it. It is polluting the environment so the main focus of my company is providing an eco-friendly environment where we use the existing waste products of the earth and transform it into energy that provides for poor living in rural communities. It is has been a case of students living in those communities failing their school exams because there is no access to a reliable electricity supply.
People living in these places also use Kerosene and burn charcoal which is the leading cause of lung cancer and leukemia there. There has been a case where a kid was walking with a kerosene lantern, it accidentally falls down and pie explosion takes place. So many houses have fires, there is a lot of disaster and avalanches from it. The effects of burning and inhaling of Kerosene is like smoking 10 packets of cigarettes a day (this research was done by war bank). The people are using it every day in rural communities and you can see the amounts of sickness is causing, and unfortunately, there are no unique medical facilities in these areas.
So I am trying to prevent health factors, and environmental impacts as well.
What was your inspiration?
It was a case of failing my own school exams because there was no energy supply in my house and my parents could not afford to buy kerosene or pay electricity bills, because it was expensive and we were broke. So being an innovator. I was facing challenges and so were other students around me. I was not the only student who failed my school exams, another 56 students failed that were living in my community. As an innovator ad a change-maker I tend to use the available tools at my disposal. I finding scrap electronic parts and putting them together to come up with an electronic hand-cranked power generator which you crank for 5 minutes and then will provide 24hours of electricity supply without using any battery
What have been some of your highlights in your career so far… why?
My first breakthrough from my barriers was being recommended to a program and going on to getting elected for the UNDP good summit Innovation Award in 2016. Where I pitched my idea and I won the award and with the seed fund which helped me to develop and build my product, and help impact my life as well. At the time of giving it a go, I never thought I would win and even up to the point my name was announced as the winner, I couldn’t believe it. To my belief, my ideas did not compete with the entrepreneurs that were also running in the platform. Tears streamed when I was announced the winner.
What challenges have you faced?
My initial challenges were the ability of funds.
Support and encouragement, the environment we are living in, people like us who invent something from nothing, get negative vibes towards our inspiration. Because a huge majority of the population is illiterate, have little education, people tend to class you as ‘witchcraft’ (which is normal).
What you have found to be your best resources?
Samuel said his resilient mindset comes from his struggle, the forever disappointment in my life, I have taken as motivation to move forward. I know where I came from, and I know where I am going.
What advice do you have for your peers?
It is not easy, at some points in your life and your journey, or starting a business you might face obstacles, not might… you will face obstacles, but with the resilient mindset that, you know what? Whatever comes your way, aim straight for the top.
It’s going to be really really hard treading, it’s disappointing, it’s really tiring, during the path. There might be points where you’re just like ‘I don’t wanna do this anymore, I don’t want to do this’. But no, no, get up, you can do it.
There is this quote I often say, ‘God can’t give you something that you are not able to carry.’ If you come across an opportunity in some points of time you feel this is so big, it comes with so many responsibilities and carries a lot of effort. Sometimes you might think this is not meant for you. It’s yours, it was given to you for a reason, and when you get it, at the end that’s when you’ll know it was really for you.
The history of the struggle is rich with the stories of yours and yours, some of them are leaders, some of them are followers all of them deserve to be remembered. For the story of an African child is the same, from nothing we can do something. The story from an entrepreneur and a change maker is the same, from nothing we can become something, with a resilient mindset and focus.
Do you have any future projects or ideas?
Lots of innovators in Africa, not only in my country, don’t have the resources, the platform, the mentorship, the tools, so in the next 10–15years, I will be that person to do have a hub, where young minds can gather in a co-working, co-create ideas, share ideas, It’s like an accelerator program where I would teach them entrepreneurial skills. Where they can build their ideas from an idea to a product. Give them support to create impact.