Fife-based company Kinnotech, which is developing solar-powered lamps to help children in parts of Africa without electricity do homework after sunset, is one of three Scottish start-ups taking part in a business showcase in London in a quest for investment and guidance.
Called Pitch@Palace, and hosted by the Duke of York, the event sees 41 start-ups converge on St James's Palace on Wednesday with business ideas based on the application of science and technology.
Kinnotech chief executive Joyce Onuonga, a teacher from Kenya who came to Scotland in 1990 to study for an MBA at Dundee Business School, founded the company in July 2013 and has developed it as a sideline with fellow directors from the Auchtermuchty-based weighing machine manufacturer, John White & Son.
The Kinnotech lamp has refined existing solar-powered technology to provide a durable 360-degree, 300-lumen light, which can run independently for 14 hours after charging itself in the sunshine for five. The light also allows users to recharge mobile phones, a key function in Africa where the devices are integral to otherwise lacking banking facilities.
Onouga, 52, said: "The light is still at the prototype stage. We have registered the trademark and are trying to raise it to the next level, looking to raise £300,000 to get us closer to manufacturing it in Scotland. For us, the aim of Pitch@Palace is to meet potential investors and advisers who would help us take things forward."
Prince Andrew has partnered 14 accelerator organisations from around the UK, each of whom has nominated three entrepreneurs to join the programme.
Scotland's three contributors - the other two being Edinburgh interactive learning company Digiblocks and colour-changing label company Insignia Technologies - were chosen by Scottish Enterprise and Informatics Ventures, the Scottish Funding Council-supported innovation and entrepreneurship body.
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