Four young women met in a Harvard engineering class in 2008. Having all spent time in Africa as well as other developing countries, they saw the need for energy. In fact, 95% of the population in most African countries is living with no access to electricity. Further, breathing the fumes created from burning kerosene indoors equals the harmful effects of smoking two packs of cigarettes per day (According to World Bank Millennium Goals Report, 2006). The women’s travels also revealed the deep love of soccer around the globe. They decided to fuse the need for energy with the universal love of soccer to create….sOccket.

sOccket is a soccer ball that captures the energy during game play to charge LEDs and batteries. After playing with the ball, the child can return home and use the ball to connect a LED lamp to read, study, or illuminate the home. The ball uses an inductive coil mechanism to generate energy.

sOccket is still in prototyping stage, where 15 minutes of play can light 3 hours of LED light. The ladies will continue beta testing throughout Africa this summer- home of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

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