Atlanta-Born Startup Powering Africa With Battery-as-a-Service Solution

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Hypepotamus. It is published on Global Atlanta as part of our content partnership with the Southeast’s top source for innovation news. Sign up for Hypepotamus newsletters here. 

Benedict Owanga’s entrepreneurial “spark” first ignited during a power outage.

He was a student at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta when his building lost power one day while he was studying. That was certainly a frustration, but power outages are ultimately a rarity in the United States. It got him thinking about how much of a disruption it would be to live in a place that dealt with inconsistent access to electricity.

That is a reality in many places across the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Benedict and his family are from. Benedict, along with fellow Emory Law student Chinelo Adi, wanted to change that dynamic and make power more accessible in Africa. The two originally planned to import battery packs from China, but they shifted to focus on sustainability and cost-effective battery options.

That’s when Owanga Solar was born.

The startup, which was born while Mr. Owanga and Ms. Chinelo were still in law school, provides a renewable, affordable and clean energy solution. Its “battery-as-a-service” platform provides rentable and portable solar energy packs that can be used to power businesses and individual households.

“I founded this company with a deep-rooted passion for sustainability and the transition to clean energy. Over time, I realized that while the world is making progress in this direction, it’s the people in developing countries who will be most impacted by climate change, and unfortunately, they often lack the resources and solutions needed to adapt,” Owanga told Emory News in July. “In essence, the Western world has access to climate change solutions, but we must work harder to ensure those in the developing world are not left behind.”  

The system, called Chisun, is designed to provide reliable power off-grid. The startup’s solar-charged batteries can be rented for $2 a day, making it more accessible than expensive traditional generators. The battery packs are developed from repurposed laptop batteries and plastics, according to the company’s website.

During a pilot program in Congo, Owanga’s battery-as-a-service platform helped business owners stay open longer, hence driving more revenue.

Owanga is currently working on making battery solutions that are stackable in order to help deliver bigger batteries and more power to customers.

From Atlanta To Africa

While the team behind Chisun is hyperfocused on delivering energy to Africa, Atlanta has played a key part in the startup’s early success.

Benedict pitched and won several local competitions, including those run by Fusen World’s Cleantech Innovation Challenge and EO Atlanta.

The startup is also gaining traction on the international startup stage. Owanga was recently named as one of 16 finalists for the Hult Prize, an international student-focused competition focused on startups solving the United Nations’ sustainable development challenges. Mr. Owanga will travel to the United Kingdom to pitch in August. The winner, announced in September, will receive $1 million in investment funding.

While finishing up his degree at Emory, Mr. Owanga balanced school and founder responsibilities that took him back and forth between Atlanta and Central Africa. He also ended up in Germany and Mexico for pitch competitions to help build traction for the company.

Right now, the team behind Owanga is focused on finding an electrical engineer to help scale up their product and new pilot program partners.

On the personal side, Mr. Owanga is focused on studying for the Bar Exam before his next big adventure: Moving back to Congo to work on scaling the startup full-time.