Haitian Mike Bellot was motivated to create the solar-powered backpack when his young cousin tragically died from in a fire in Haiti whilst studying by candlelight. Now Bellot is one of Haiti’s leading lights for innovation and social change.
Bellot recently posted an exciting update on his Solobag: “The whole SoloBag team is happy to announce a new feature that will make our students’ lives easier. Solo Bag is a backpack I created that allows students to navigate through Wikipedia, YouTube and over 100 websites without the internet!
“The vision behind this project is to bring more parity to thousands of students in education. I want students in rural areas, unestablished power and internet areas, to have the same learning opportunities as a student and urban students who enjoy all these opportunities.
“In addition to a backpack, it will be an educational platform that provides access to research, assignments, learning websites, dictionaries, YouTube videos, TED talks and almost all national education books or free, without internet.
“Solo Bag a social enterprise which aims to channel the energy of the sun into creating a brighter future for every child in Haiti and for those all over the world who live with no access to electricity.”
“It will also enable them to learn a profession, and various skills to train themselves to be masters of their destiny. In this sense, juvenile crime will decrease and we will have more citizens in society.”
Add-on solar panels on the backpack enable students without access to electricity to study at night. When the backpack is turned on, the system spreads the WiFi signal (Hotspot) that allows up to 20 people to connect at once with phones, tablets, laptops and digital devices. Once connected, the system redirects to the SoloEd platform where they have access to all SoloEd content without the internet.
Bellot has shared a number of backpacks, which already have the system installed, with various teachers in the field of learning in Haiti. This way they can experiment it with students or learners and share their experiences before making it more widely available.
Bellot studied global Politics and International trade in Taiwan. After the tragic, fatal accident of his cousin, Bellot became determined to create a solution that would be safer, cost-effective and accessible – not only to Haitians – but also to the other 1.2 billion people around the world who do not have access to electricity, (International Energy Agency, 2016).
Solo Bag, created with the help of Bellot’s friend, Torcel Wendianne, is embedded with a solar panel that absorbs energy that is stored in a battery bank. It powers the LED lamp installed in the bag and has enough power to safely illuminate a room for up to six hours – plenty of time for students to do their homework at night. The bag also comes with a USB port where mobile phones and other electronic devices can be charged.
Forbes magazine names Bellot among the 10 most prolific Haitian entrepreneurs reinventing Haiti’s narrative. He also received the Meaningful Business 100 Award (2012 which recognises business leaders from around the world whose social impact contributes to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
He recently created Skytefi, a cost-effective solution to the difficult challenge of bringing internet access to people in underserved remote areas. Bellot is a university in Haiti, teaches innovation, entrepreneurship and business-related courses.
Bellot says: “From an entrepreneurial perspective I can say that there is a dynamic in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Haiti as more people embark on entrepreneurial journeys. We have Coworking spaces, incubators, credit for startups and entrepreneurship support networks. Things are moving in Haiti now with socially-minded young people and that’s a positive sign.”
Bello says he learnt the valuable lesson of community service from his business studies. “Hard work isn’t always about making money, it’s how you impact the lives of people through what you are doing. There is much work to be done in this life. Instead of thinking about monetary gain as an end result, think instead about the solution you bring to the existing problem, the pain you relieve and the impact your work really has.”
If you’re interested in this new feature and want to partner or have educational content you’d like to share on the SoloEd platform, don’t hesitate to contact Mike Bello at: mikebellotO@gmail.com.
