product -- we had to actually get involved in the value chain downstream, he says. We thought, well, if the generator can recharge five lights so quickly, could this not be the basis of a recharging business for a local entrepreneur ? As a result, the company decided not to sell its products directly to customers. Instead, it set up a network of village-level entrepreneurs who are responsible for marketing, selling, and recharging the lights. Hajee says this unique model of distribution has revolutionized the lives of both micro-entrepreneurs and customers. If you look at this from the standpoint of the customer, says Hajee, they would purchase the light for $6 and then they would pay about 20 U.S. cents per week for lighting. This is compared to about $2 a week that they would spend on kerosene before. So it's 10 times cheaper solution for them. From the entrepreneur's perspective, in 20 minutes of pedaling, they 're recharging five lights, earning about $1 -- any of us that work in Africa know that that's much more than people make in an entire day. So it's a huge value proposition for the customer and for the entrepreneur. Hajee notes that this model can easily be emulated across rural Africa. He says that Nuru Energy, which currently focuses on East Africa and India, has already been approached by a number of potential joint venture partners to roll out the project in