Kibanda Poa

"Kibanda Poa" is a small scale, portable, solar powered unit that prolongs the freshness of fruits and vegetables.

Long description

The WFP reports that food waste due to post-harvest losses is one of the root causes of hunger worldwide. At a time when 1 in every 9 people is food insecure, the cost of post-harvest food losses in Sub-Saharan Africa have been estimated at USD 4 billion; surpassing total aid received in the region. Cutting global food waste by 50% by 2030 is now one of the UN’s top priorities and one of its sustainable development goals. While much has been done to stem post-harvest losses of grains, little has been done to address the spoilage of fresh produce that leads to their physiological deterioration and loss of valuable nutrients. Thus, there is a need for the development of an energy efficient refrigeration method that reduces the metabolic activity and growth of food spoilage microbes in fresh produce.

“Kibanda Poa” (Swahili for “cool vending stall”) is a portable, solar powered commercial refrigeration unit designed for use by small scale fruit and vegetable vendors in typical African market settings to extend the shelf life of fresh produce from 2 to 21 days. It comes with an inbuilt thermometer to monitor internal cooling temperature and is connected to a mobile application that alerts the vendor when its internal temperature rises above optimal cooling range. The vendor also uses the mobile app to alert their wholesale supplier/farmer once stocks are depleted to enable the supplier to replenish stocks on time and the app is linked to mobile payment systems for seamless financial transactions.

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