Preamble:
RECENTLY, it was an exciting week for President Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) when he played host to a 25-year-old Nigerian, Ms Jessica
Matthews, who invented a power-generating football tagged SOCCKET ball.
DigitalSENSE Business News gathered that the co-founder and
Chief Executive Officer, Unchartedplay, Ms Matthews, was at the Presidential
Villa, Abuja, to present the ball, capable of generating a three-hour light
from 30 minutes of play to President Jonathan, in addition to presentation of
an energy-generating skipping rope to the President.
Jonathan applauds Jessica:
Congratulating Ms Matthews on her creative invention,
Jonathan expressed excitement on Matthews ability to train as a psychologist
and economist, and transform by developing herself in the field of other
sciences.
He said Matthews invention is a proof of the quality of
human resource existing in Nigeria.
The invention, he said, was useful as a major tool that
could be used to mobilise young Nigerians and encourage them to think more
deeply.
My inspiration:
In her remarks, Matthews said that sometimes power is lost
and she wonder on what could be done to solve the situation.
“… I saw my cousins and everyone playing football, playing
with everything not even with football alone. I say this is amazing and they
can rival Messi. If we can take this kinetic that is generated here and use it
to address the issues that we really have; kinetic energy is used for windmill,
why not the ball?” she declared.
She said although the items were already on sale in New
York, she had not started making them in Nigeria.
She, however, said when they would be made available for
sale in Nigeria, the cost would be equivalent to what people pay for a solar
inverter.
The mission of her company, she disclosed is to “Foster
well-being by inspiring people to lead playful lives.”
Manufacturing locally and Harvard connection:
For the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Segun Aganga,
the Federal Government was looking at the possibilities of manufacturing the
items in Nigeria and how to make them cheaper for Nigerians.
“Jessica is a Nigerian, she studied at Harvard University,
and she went to Business School and actually taught herself Electrical and
Mechanical Engineering. So, she is an inspiration to every Nigerian especially
our children in Nigerian universities. This is a product not only for Nigeria,
but a product made in Nigeria by a Nigerian and for the world,” he said.
Emphasizing that additional thing is that the Soccket ball
product is actually versatile, which entails that it is not just about the
electricity, “You can use it to charge your mobile phones, for fans, so there
are so many things for which it can be used.”
Explaining further, Ms Matthews who was accompanied by her
father Mr. Matthew alongside some of her top management team, said that Soccket
was born out of passion to harness the football skills among lovers of the
game, since it has become a global phenomena, hence Soccket is a soccer ball
that generates electricity as you play.
Cardinal points:
On the product development approach, she said that this is
centred on three cardinal points, namely care, embrace and amplify. She
explained that for care, UP want each project to have a positive impact on
people and the environment, thus they strive to include all stakeholders in the
development process to create practical products that are driven by the
company’s mission.
So, because they want people of all race to embrace the
product its development is driven by first-hand information receive from
partnering Non-Government Organisation (NGO), which often are testimonials
about positive experiences and then these are used as the starting point for
potential solutions.
Equally to amplify the product, she pointed out that typical
design interventions require users to adopt new behaviors for successful
implementation, therefore, the team focus on creating products that amplify
existing behavior.
Playing to dreams:
What began in May of 2011 as a dream saw Jessica O. Matthews
and Julia Silverman founding Uncharted Play (UP); a new kind of social
enterprise that has continued to show the world that doing good and doing good
business need not be mutually exclusive.
According to Jessica, Uncharted Play dream began in 2008
when Matthews and Silverman met during their junior year at Harvard College.
Both studying to be social scientists with no experience in engineering, but
driven by passion, she worked with her partner on a number of class project to
invent the SOCCKET, which today is reputed as an energy harnessing soccer ball.
Through this experience, both women realized that the world
of play was truly uncharted territory when it came to tangibly addressing real
issues facing the society. Though the future was uncertain, they knew that an
enterprise grounded in sustainable, realistic solutions for happiness had an
undeniable value.
DigitalSENSE Business News gathered that after graduating
from college, Messrs Matthews and Silverman set up shop in New York City and
established an enthusiastic team to further develop the founders core values.
Hence, the SOCCKET constantly reiterated its position to truly meet the needs
of the end user, and development on several other fun and functional products
has already begun.
Playful lives:
With the Uncharted Play mission being to “Foster well-being
by inspiring people to lead playful lives” banking on for-profit social
enterprise dedicated to improving lives through play. She maintained that UP
flagship product is the SOCCKET, an energy harnessing soccer ball.
One dreams as posited by the Minister of Trade and
Investment, Dr. Aganga, that soon than later, that Nigerians will began to feel
the impact of this Nigerian-linked invention to not only bring energy to the
people, but also save the world of demerits of current energy generation
tactics, devoid of the kind of promise made Dr. Izuogu, a Nigerian who designed
a car locally and 16 years later, the Federal Government could not facilitate
grants for him to take the project beyond theorem.
*Remmy Nweke
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