Activity Description: In 1992 the Solar Aid Workshop was started in collaboration with the Botswana Technology Centre to manufacture solar rechargeable hearing aids specifically tailored for the needs of Africans and other people in the developing world. Its objective is to develop practical low-cost technologies and to provide employment and training opportunities for hearing disabled people.

Godisa makes three low-cost hearing aids, including one that is solar powered and uses a rechargeable battery. The battery itself can be charged up to 300 times over its 2-year lifespan and sells for under US$1.50.

Activity Description: In response to its domestic AIDS crisis, the Botswana government is developing comprehensive programs to cope with both the disease and the region's shortage of physicians and medical personnel. In conjunction with Harvey Friedman, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Penn Medical School and director of the Penn Program in Botswana, Botswana's Ministry of Health has authorized a center at Wharton -- the Sol C. Snider Entrepreneurial Research Center -- to help the country develop a more efficient system to manage HIV/AIDS therapy and monitor HIV patients.

Activity Description: DireqLearn is a private company whose goal is to promote the use of information technology in education. It currently has operations in Western Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa. DireqLearn seeks out underdeveloped markets for its low-cost education solutions, and is able to make a profit while serving some of the most underdeveloped countries in the world. Services offered by DireqLearn include consulting and project management, content, alternative connectivity, and technology platform solutions.