Tackling Energy Poverty

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Lifeplayer MP3 wins a top prize In SAB Foundation Innovations Awards

Lifeline Energy and its Lifeplayer MP3 won a top prize in the inaugural SAB Foundation Innovation Awards. The South Africa competition, which reviewed nearly 200 different innovations, was established to identify, reward and provide funding to scale up the most innovative, sustainable technologies for the pressing daily challenges faced by people in low-income areas.

Lifeline Energy's South Africa office has been awarded R100,000 and fourth place by the Johannesburg-based SAB Foundation. The breakthrough Lifeplayer MP3 is the first solar-powered and wind-up digital device that combines a media player, recorder and radio. Created for humanitarian use, the Lifeplayer MP3 can educate and deliver 24/7 audio content to poor communities in ways never before possible.

The top prize of R1,000,000 went to Reel Gardening which makes organic fertilised seed strips. Shonaquip (a fellow Schwab Foundation organisation) and Invoice Exchange placed joint second, while Arivi and Drybath came in at joint third.

The Lifeplayer MP3 is closely aligned with the objectives of the SAB Foundation Innovation Awards, in that it provides sustainable support to marginalised communities – specifically youth in rural areas.

Philip Goodwin, Executive Director of Lifeline Technologies Trading Ltd, the new product development arm of Lifeline Energy and its principal designer commented, “We are thrilled that the SAB Foundation recognizes the value of the Lifeplayer MP3 to supplement education in marginalised communities. The fact that this well-respected global organisation selected our product validates the vision and efforts of all involved to use technology to bring on-demand learning to the most remote areas of the globe.”

Two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks, Lifeline Energy’s American Ambassador, recognises the powerful impact that renewable energy solutions can bring to the poor and was the primary funder in the development of the Lifeplayer MP3.

A 2009 report in the Journal of Education for International Development states that the average student exposed to radio instruction outranked 76% of their peers without access to radio instruction. The Lifeplayer MP3 enhances existing radio-based programming by incorporating MP3 and other features – the pre-loading of content, repeating and playing back as often as necessary to ensure the learner understands.

About the SAB Foundation

Established in 2010, the SAB Foundation is the South African charity arm of global breweries SAB Miller. The foundation focuses on developing entrepreneurship, engaging in community initiatives that provide benefits to historically disadvantaged South Africans—with a priority on women, the youth, and persons with disabilities, particularly in rural areas.