From Karlsruhe to Africa

Helping people to help themselves: an opportunity for Rwanda
Dr Dirk Schweinberger, Managing Director of tech-solute GmbH from Bruchsal, describes his company’s work in Rwanda, Africa, as ‘helping people to help themselves’. He explains the background to the latest project with Africa as follows: “Large companies have no interest in developing special products for a poor country such as Rwanda. I see a great opportunity for Africa in companies learning to develop what they need themselves, if possible with the resources and raw materials they have locally. They need expertise for this. The GIZ (German Society for International Cooperation) is also working on this with its ‘Business Scouts Programme Rwanda’, which is doing a great deal to support German companies with funding to become active in Rwanda.
In essence, the current project involves two devices. Using one device (a demolition hammer), tech-solute demonstrates how effective product development works and the Rwandan engineers apply what they have learnt to the second device they have chosen themselves (a hospital bed with functions). The tech-solute engineers accompany them every step of the way, from brainstorming to methodology and software application to prototype construction.

Background: ‘The demolition hammers that are used daily in the raw material mines in Rwanda to extract raw materials underground are usually bought cheaply, are not suitable for the specific application and usually stop functioning after a few weeks,’ explains Max Stieler, tech-solute project manager for Rwanda. This is a complex problem in everyday life, as it is difficult to get hold of replacement parts from abroad. “Our idea was to take a closer look at the demolition hammer and adapt it to the local environmental and repair conditions. What we have done is a frugal development, a kind of regression to what is really needed. Above all, it has to be largely manufacturable in Rwanda, with the resources they have there.”
So our engineers Philipp Aders and Jörg Scheuer flew to Rwanda, spoke to the users and then worked with the Rwandan company REMCO to develop a new demolition hammer in eight months (with the help of training videos and weekly virtual meetings), in which the motor can be replaced in just a few simple steps. It is also equipped with lighting to provide the light required in the mines and has been fitted with various ergonomic handles and an efficient motor guard.

‘Our engineers travelled to Rwanda with the prototype in their luggage and showed their African colleagues how to assemble the new demolition hammer.’ German and Rwandan engineers then tested the device together on site in the mines. They also helped to drive forward the in-house development of the ‘second product’, the hospital bed, and adapt it to the existing machines and available raw materials.
The demolition hammer project was not tech-solute’s first Africa project. tech-solute also developed a so-called solar kiosk, a portable device with photovoltaic cells that can be used to charge mobile phones. “Around 80 per cent of Rwandans had mobile phones at the time, but only 30 per cent had the electricity needed to charge them.