Inventors : Anais-Marie Celestine Berkes & Harry Giddens, CGE Cultivator
The aim of Solar Plexus is to address the knowledge barrier that prevents people in Africa making the move to solar energy. By using a conversational system, delivered through WhatsApp, they will allow users to ask questions in their own words, rather than having to navigate a website or fill in forms.
The context is that many potential solar adopters face barriers to understanding what it would mean for them personally. Existing information sources are often technical, fragmented or presented in a way that requires users to already know what to look for. Potential purchasers may want to know how much money they could save, how reliable it is, or what size of system they would need, but can find this information difficult to access.
Using detailed market data, the inventors have developed a first prototype of an AI-powered WhatsApp chatbot called Solar Chat, which helps people learn more about the benefits of solar systems and can also introduce them to local installers and suppliers.
Solar Chat is initially being developed for Ghana and Nigeria, using reliable data sources gathered by local partners. It is this data that helps to make Solar Chat relevant and reliable for the local context, ensuring that it can help answer common questions in an appropriate way.
The question for the i-Team is to investigate and recommend the next steps for Solar Chat. This will include identifying additional early markets for the chatbot as well as other relevant local partners in Ghana and Nigeria. The i-Team will also be asked to investigate possible sources of funding to support the ongoing development of the chatbot, as well as allowing it to be distributed free of charge to end users in order to maximise its impact and increase the use of solar energy in African countries.