Startups with high tech skills don’t only come from Silicon Valley but also from Africa. Some South African enterpreneurs; Sabelo Sibanda and Thulisile Volwana have developed a solar-powered tablet called the Millbug Vuya tablet.
The tablet is Wi-Fi only, has a seven-inch screen, and runs on the latest version of Android’s operating system, 4.4 KitKat. It has a 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of memory, and 4GB of storage.
The tablet also comes with a solar charger (the duo found that the solar panels they wanted to integrate into the device weren’t powerful enough to charge its battery) and with a detachable power bank that can be charged with the sun’s power because some of the tablet’s components melt in the sun.
The Millbug was first found as an ecommerce site selling women’s clothing. This was later pivoted pivoted to a technology company after realizing that while South Africa represents a huge ecommerce opportunity, the small screen and limited uses of smartphones are a hindrance. Then the idea of a tablet that could be used even rural Africans came up.
Forefinga was also created by Sibanda and Volwana, an e-commerce platform that enables e-commerce entrepreneurs to take advantage of the Vuya tablet.
The Vuya tablet also has major implications for Web development in Africa and other regions lacking a lot of infrastructure. With the rise of browser-based Web development tools, this can mean that people in those areas can more easily learn to program, built apps and sites that are helpful to their lives and more.
Millbug received R35,000 (about $2,400) from the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) to help them with this project. Seda also helped the duo with certifications and licenses, which it paid for. Millbuf self-funded the rest.
The tablet was designed in South Africa, but the units are built overseas. Millbug is also talking to some major companies, including some telecommunications players.
