Spotlight on Youth-Driven Green Technology Innovation

August 8, 2023

Solar-powered Backpacks: Giving the Green Light to Education in Botswana

Kedumetse brought much more than metaphoric light to the lives of school children in Botswana when he created the Chedza Solar Backpack.

Generation Z and millennials don’t need alarm clocks, their frustration with social and environmental injustice wakes them up. Leading the charge among them is Botswana’s 32-year-old Kedumetse Liphi, CEO and Founder of Ked-Liphi, who is no exception.

Let’s spill the tea on the work and IP journey of this young, green inventor, turned entrepreneur – and explore how you can protect and monetize your own green inventions.

Making an iconic debut on CNN's global stage, the Chedza Backpack instantly captured international attention. Kedumetse and his team capitalized on this limelight, rolling out a limited run of 100 solar backpacks that flew off the shelves within a week. Moreover, their commitment to social upliftment shone through as they generously donated backpacks to students across Botswana, enriching the lives of youngsters at schools like Kedumetse's alma mater, Senete Primary School, and Bophirima Primary School. The Chedza Backpack ranges from school solar backpacks, corporate solar backpacks, travelling trolley solar backpacks, and a military mission solar backpack.

Why does Kedumetse's story find its place on the WIPO website, you wonder? He is a stellar example of the fact that age is not a barrier to making use of the intellectual property (IP) system. The technology in the backpack harnesses the power of the sun. It charges itself during the day using a 6W solar panel to generate electricity. This technology is patented, and the name 'Chedza Solar Backpack' is trademarked by Kedumetse. Very fitting that the name "Chedza," means "light" in his home language, Setswana - a perfect reflection of its purpose. He secured both his patent and trademark through the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) in Botswana.

Through his innovation and entrepreneurship journey, Kedumetse has developed a strong recognition of the value of IP and encourages other aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs to join the bandwagon. He emphasized that:

I will encourage the youth and innovators to learn and take IP registration seriously and prioritize protecting their inventions. IP is a long term investment.

That Lightbulb Moment: Behind the Scenes of a Solar Revelation

The inspiration for his invention is quite surprising. The young inventor revealed to us that:

One day while driving around with friends in Senete where I grew up, we came across a student who used a 5kg Tastic rice packaging for a school bag. We offered the kid a ride home, where we discovered that the household was living below the poverty bracket, with no electricity nor money for Kerosene.

Like this schoolchild, millions of African schoolchildren cannot do their schoolwork at night without electricity to light up the room, or to charge the devices they might need to do it.

With this reality in mind, Kedumetse had a lightbulb moment, or in his exceptional case, a solar panel moment – why not find a solution to provide African schoolchildren with access to lighting and electricity to give them quality education, while saving money and the planet at the same time?

These eco-friendly Solar Backpacks not only provide a sustainable lighting solution, but also reduce the use of kerosene, candles and fossil fuels, saving money for economically disadvantaged families.

Moreover, many schoolchildren in rural areas typically use low quality fabric backpacks susceptible to wear and tear. This means deteriorating backpacks must constantly be replaced even when money is scarce, leading to scenarios like the poor student who resorted to using a rice sack as a schoolbag. Chedza backpacks are manufactured with durable, waterproof canvas, which can last up to five years, to the benefit of poor families.

In addition to being cost-effective, many Africans beyond Botswana have bought the backpacks as an interim solution to load-shedding or power interruptions, which are a continental-wide problem.

Chedza Solar Backpacks demonstrate the creative potential of young Africans to solve multiple social and environmental challenges when equipped with the necessary resources and IP tools. One backpack at a time, Kedumetse assists rural communities while also promoting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Quality Education, Affordable and clean energy, and Climate action.

You too can Greenovate: How WIPO can Support Your Green Ideas

Have you, like Kedumetse, designed or developed a ground-breaking green innovation? Our green technology marketplace, WIPO GREEN, can connect you with individuals or companies seeking to commercialise, licence or distribute your green technology.

Trust us, your classmate copying your answers during a test may have been frustrating, but having credit for your innovation stolen and losing money in the process is way worse.

We’re here to help you protect your intellectual property.

How to protect your invention

Ready to launch the innovation you worked so hard to create and to take the world by storm? To be able to wipe your blood, sweat and tears with bank notes, you will need a patent, which generally expires 20 years after being granted.

A patent serves as your invention's shield and sword, providing you exclusive rights to use, exploit, and most importantly, rake in profits from your creation. When you patent your invention, no one else can commercially make, distribute, sell, or use it without your consent, unless you sell or grant the rights to your invention to a third party under a licence. Take Kedumetse, for instance. Only he has the authority to manufacture, sell, and profit from the patented design of the Chedza Solar Backpack, unless he chooses to allow others to produce similar items.

To receive a patent, you must provide technical information about your invention to the public. Don't worry, this won't detract from your invention's uniqueness. Instead, it fosters a culture of innovation.

Remember, patents aren't exclusive to big corporations or complex products such as the Chedza Solar Backpack. They're available to individuals and for any innovative product or process that solves a problem or offers a new method of doing something, however big or small. From machinery and unique product designs, to new plant varieties, jewellery, textiles, software or hardware, or even something as simple as a paperclip— if it's your original invention, it can be patented.

While a patent is typically valid only in the country where it was granted, filing one patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), provides you a blanket protection in up to 157 countries.

For more, check out the frequently asked questions on patenting your work to make sure copycats stay in their lane.

The innovation support WIPO provides

Our Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) program provides innovators in developing countries with high quality technology information and related services to help them create, protect, and manage IP rights.

WIPO’s Inventor Assistance Program (IAP) provides small businesses and inventors with resources to commercialise their innovations. IAP matches innovators with patent professionals for free. The program currently operates in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa. Do you want to kick start your innovation journey? Find out how to apply to the IAP.

While you’re at it, you may find our Patent Drafting Training Program particularly helpful to develop the skills you need to draft and file your patent application, making the entire process a breeze.

What are you waiting for? Unleash your creative prowess and show other young inventors that the sky is not the limit when there are footprints on the moon! All the IP resources you may need are just a click away on our website.