Project Brief

Product Area:	Off-grid lighting
Big Idea:	a high quality, inexpensive, solar-rechargeable LED light.
Project Launched:	April 2006
Company Founded:	June 2007
Results:	Thousands of lights manufactured so far, and sold in Africa and Asia. Several new lighting models about to launch.
Team:	Erica Estrada (mechanical engineering), Sam Goldman (business), Ned Tozun (business), Xianyi Wu (mechanical engineering).

The Challenge

For more than one in five people in the world today, kerosene lanterns are the only option for household lighting. In addition to the low quality lighting afforded by kerosene lanterns, kerosene is also an expensive fuel source, causes respiratory problems in children, and is a significant fire hazard. Yet these people typically have no access to electricity, and therefore can’t use electric lights. d.light set out to design a better lighting solution for the 1.6 billion people caught in this gap.

The Journey

d.light began their project by studying the habits and needs of rural villages in Myanmar. Inspired by the night vendors they saw using candles, they designed a clean and efficient LED light for use on a night vendor’s stall. After further development, they realized their product was a highly desirable household item, and shifted their focus to the home.

In the home, they identified several other non-obvious needs. Lights needed to be hung easily from the ceiling, from the walls, and still carried comfortably in the hand for outside excursions. They honed in on the size of battery that would be necessary for night-time household use. They chose LEDs that offer enough light for the household tasks they saw (children studying, nighttime income generating activities, etc.) at the lowest price.

After the Extreme Affordability class ended, the d.light team began to enter their design into business plan competitions. And they began winning them. Encouraged by these small successes, they entered the Draper Fisher Jurvetson Venture Challenge. The DFJ competition was not particularly aimed at social ventures, but they decided to give it a shot. They walked out of the competition with a check for a quarter of a million dollars. Several weeks later, d.light design was formed as a for-profit company.

After gaining additional backing from other investors, d.light spent the next eight months doing extensive user testing, refining the design, and developing relationships with manufacturers and distributors. Eventually, they were ready to move their operations entirely overseas. Their product design and manufacturing operations are now located in Shenzhen, China, while Delhi, India is home to their sales and marketing headquarters.

The Product

d.light’s first product to hit stores was the Nova, a solar-rechargeable LED lamp that is 10-20 times brighter than a kerosene lantern. It has four different light settings, and will provide light for 5-200 hours on a single charge, depending on the setting. The form factor ensures that it can be hung from the ceiling or walls, or carried by hand or with the included neck strap. The light retails for $20-$30, and has been selling in Africa and Asia.

The Future for d.light

The Nova is only the first in a line of affordable lights. d.light will soon be unveiling several other models at even lower price points. d.light will also be expanding its market further into Africa and Asia, as well as to other countries where kerosene lanterns are prevalent. In the next 10 years, d.light’s goal is to replace every kerosene lantern in the world with safer, brighter, and more affordable lighting.

For more information about d.light, check out www.dlightdesign.com.