There are an estimated 600 million people worldwide with a hearing impediment.
"A single mom with a disability in a developing country is my hero” - says howard weinstein, the inventor of the solar ear
Now Weinstein is at the forefront of helping those heroes, at least those with hearing disabilities. In the past, the cost of a hearing aid and battery in the developing world has been one of the main impediments to addressing hearing problems.
Solar ear, weinstein’s company, combines the power of solar energy with affordable, life-changing technology to get people hearing again.
The traditional hearing aid is powered by a rechargeable solar battery, making it more accessible and longer-lasting for more people in need. And, as Weinstein points out, “We are able to sell a hearing aid, solar charger and batteries that last for two to three years for under one hundred dollars, or less than most people spend on batteries alone over the life of their hearing aid.” With operations up and running in Botswana, Brazil, Mexico and soon in the Middle East, Solar Ear knows no boundaries when it comes to breaking the silence of a protracted hearing problem.
And the impact is resonating. In the past seven years, solar ear has sold 10,000 hearing aids, 20,000 solar chargers and 50,000 batteries to over 40 countries.
The company plans to open fifteen more independent operations over the next five years. And they’re raising the bar: over the next five years, all operations will be manufacturing 25,000 hearing aids, 50,000 solar chargers and 100,000 batteries per month, employing over 1000 people with a hearing disability. Solar Ear gets the aids out and about through local organizations and NGOs across the developing world.
Weinstein, formerly a Canadian-based business man, goes one step further with Solar Ear by employing the deaf.
“The first thing we do is visit the local high schools for the deaf and talk to the directors of the school to see if there is an interest on their behalf. We explain our program to them and let them know that their students who qualify to work at solar ear must stay in school if they wish to work,” explained weinstein.
The entrepreneur is credited with running the first South-South, deaf-to-deaf hiring and training program.
Empowerment of employees—especially those who might otherwise face insurmountable employment obstacles—is a special hallmark of Weinstein’s operation.
“My role in solar ear brazil as it was in botswana and will be in the new middle east program is to train a local counterpart in running a sustainable business. I try to teach entrepreneurship.” - said Weinstein.
From its base in Botswana, Solar Ear has sold aids to 31 countries, and now from Brazil the company has added an additional 20. For Weinstein, bringing disparate communities together has been a special offshoot of building Solar Ear.
“I love the peace-building aspect of our activity,” weinstein said, “and am talking with ngos in kosovo, kashmir and eastern turkey-northern iraq, hiring kurdish, sunni shiite youths who are deaf. In the middle-east we will be hiring young adults from jordan, palestine and israel who are deaf to work together."
Weinstein’s operation, where a private sector business model meets developing world needs, speaks directly to the broader question of how development goals can best be achieved. While economists such as Jeffrey Sachs have argued that more money needs to flow from the developed to developing worlds, Weinstein has a particular on-the- ground perspective, illustrated by one story he shared.
Years ago, weinstein explained, the president of botswana came to visit solar ear.
The president expressed concern when Weinstein told him that Solar Ear does not patent its products. He mentioned to Weinstein that Jeffrey Sachs has various criteria on judging developing countries, and one of them was how many patented products were invented in that country.
Weinstein explained to the President that the prohibitive cost of patenting his product would force him to double or triple his selling price, to say nothing of the cost of defending against a patent infringement.
“Finally,” weinstein added, “i actually want one of the big 5 to copy us and use their distribution power to get more low cost hearing aids and batteries to developing countries. So in our case, one of dr. Sach's indicators is counterproductive.”
Patent or no patent, Weinstein’s eye remains trained on big picture issues.
“I truly believe you cannot help a country, organization, or people who do not want to be helped,” weinstein said. “you need to support and to train locally and break this cycle of always looking to the west for help. People need to be internally motivated.”
