rural

Image source: Gizmag

Here's another one from our friends at Gizmag:

ChotuKool: the $69 fridge for rural India

"Is this the world’s cheapest refrigerator? Launched by Indian conglomerate Godrej and Boyce, ChotuKool's $69 price tag is not the only reason it can be called super economical. The portable, top-opening unit weighs only 7.8kg, uses high-end insulation to stay cool for hours without power and consumes half the energy used by regular refrigerators. This is a product that has crossed several technological barriers and is designed to cross several social barriers as well."

This little fridge cools with a system like a fan in a computer and can be powered by batteries, which means it can be mobile.  It has way fewer parts than a traditional refrigerator--about 20, compared to 200--which could have positive durability and repair implications.  And its design and color choices were heavily influenced by its end-users.

Every first Wednesday of the month Ashoka gather's on Twitter to discuss topics in Social Entrepreneurship. This month we are talking about Innovations in Rural Development in Africa and India.

Want to be part of the conversation or simply see what people are talking about? Go to http://search.twitter.com from 12-2pm today and enter #SocEntChat. Everyone is welcome to join!

As an economist I'm always thinking about social entrepreneurship in terms of market efficiency, like in the case of increasing access to more accurate information through innovative ideas so that prices are fairer and there is a smaller dead weight market loss.

As a technology enthusiast I'm blown away by how Ashoka Fellows are being smart about fostering accurate information through appropriate technologies like Ashoka Fellows Adrian Mukhebi and Vincent Bagiire who are featured in the video above along with my colleague Abu Musuuza.