Baisikeli Ugunduzi is a for-profit social business that specializes in bicycle components for the Sub-Saharan African market.[1][2][3] Baisikeli Ugunduzi means innovative or modern bicycles in Swahili.[4] It was founded in the winter of 2011 by Ben Mitchell, whom holds a MS in mechanical engineering as is currently seeking his PhD at Michigan Technological University[5] and John Gershenson, a professor of mechanical engineering at MTU.[2][6] Baisikeli Ugunduzi is headquartered in Kitale, Kenya, Africa. As a for-profit social venture, it develops human-centered products, which seeks to raise the income of boda boda, who rely on the bicycle as a means of livelihood.[4][7]
Funding
Baisikeli Ugunduzi was awarded $100,000 in Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) stage 1 funding from USAID.[1][8] The enterprise won first place in the Central Michigan University New Venture Competition, worth $30,000, plus an additional $10,000 for Best Social Venture,[5][9][10][11][12] was awarded "Top 40 Project 2012" in the Dell Social Innovation Challenge,[2]
Product
Their first product is a bicycle tire inner tube replacement made of an elastic material, called the Milele Tube, which cannot go flat.[1][16] Milele means forever in Swahili.[2] It is a solid, cylindrical piece of elastic material that replaces the standard inner tube and can be cut to length to fit any size tire.[16] It is being made with three different firmness levels. There is a soft tube for the front tire, which carries less of the total load; a medium tube for light loads on the rear; and a firm tube for heavy loads such as passengers or cargo. One test rider used the firm tube to carry 200 kg for 100 km.[16] They approximate a pneumatic tube at 65 psi.[4] The first day of sales was April 6, 2013.[17]
Market
More than 5 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa depend on bicycles to earn a living,[1] such as boda boda operators, and they can spend up to a quarter of their incomes just to fix flat tires.[1] Traditional bicycle tubes cost $3,[1] and the Milele tube cost just over $10, but can last up to five years.[1]
See also
- Bikes Not Bombs
- Bikes to Rwanda
- Cardboard bicycle
- Pedaling to Freedom
- With My Own Two Wheels
- World Bicycle Relief
External links
References
- Engineering Next Generation Bicycle Components for Developing Country Consumers USAID, April 7, 2013, retrieved 2013-05-25^
- Dell Social Innovation Chalange: Baisikeli Ugunduzi Dell Inc., retrieved 2013-05-25^
- johncoe. Baisikeli Ugunduzi BoneShaker Magazine, October 8, 2012, retrieved 2013-05-25