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About Us

Kopernik is an on-line marketplace of innovative, life-changing technologies designed for the developing world.

The problem:

  • Most women across Asia and Africa make four trips a day to collect water, carrying 10 litres on each trip.
  • In the developing world 4000 children a day die from no access to clean drinking water.
  • 80% of the developing world has no access to electricity. Kerosene use leads to 1.6 million deaths a year from smoke inhalation or fire. Gathering firewood exposes girls to danger and strips forests.
  • Most developing countries have few trained optometrists and few eyeglasses.

The solution:

Simple, life-changing technologies exist to transform the lives of the poor:

  • With the Q-Drum, a rollable water container, a person transports 50 liters at a time and needs to make only one trip a day.
  • The LifeStraw – a portable water filter – effectively removes waterborne bacteria, saving children’s lives.
  • Energy efficient cooking stoves, and simple solar lighting improve health, allow adults to earn money, and enable children to study after dark.
  • Ad-Specs – self-adjustable eye glasses - eliminate the need for an optometrist – and restore vision.

But these technologies are not reaching the people who need them

  • Those in need don’t know about and can’t afford them
  • Manufacturers can’t reach users in remote areas

Kopernik solves these problems by connecting the pieces.

Here’s how Kopernik’s online technology marketplace works:
  • Our website showcases the latest technologies
  • Local groups (NGOs) choose what is most needed in their area and apply online for funding.
  • After vetting, we post the project on our website so that you can choose what you want to fund.
  • The technology is shipped directly to the local NGO, avoiding middlemen, so more of your money (in the form of technology) reaches the end user.
  • You get feedback about how your donation has helped people’s lives.