If the internet goes down, and it often does in Africa, you need a back-up plan. Not just any back-up plan, a solid one. With built-in redundancies. And decent battery life.
You want a BRCK. A sturdy plastic-encased wonder device that will bring up the internet no matter what the challenges. Sure,that sounds like a big ask. But when it’s asked of the co-founder of Ushahidi and Nairobi’s iHub, it’s not that big. Besides, have you seen Erik Hersman. He’s up to big challenges, as his recent successes launching two of the most promising tech start-ups to come out of Kenya (The iHub alone has spawned numerous start-ups in the open-plan co-working space with decent bandwidth.) It is quite right when it describes itself as: “your backup generator for the internet”.
Hersman, along with Ushahidi co-founders David Kobia and Juliana Rotich, have “focused on building tools that improve the way information flows in the world, and the BRCK is a natural extension of this”.
BRCK is rugged. Really rugged. It’s got eight hours of battery life, a 3G cellular antennae, ethernet cable and a ruggedised steel shell. It’s the ethereal ethernet, made REAL, wrought out of solid steel. And it works. Because Erik built it.
On Kickstarter: http://j.mp/10pR88f
Ushahidi: www.ushahidi.com
iHub: www.iHub.co.ke
Erik Hersman: www.whiteafrican.com
Twitter: @whiteafrican