Photos: lighting up the developing world

Buy one, give one
The BoGo flashlight is named for maker SunNight Solar's 'Buy one, give one' approach. The Houston, Texas, company gives away a light to someone in a developing region for each $25 (£13) light sold online. SunNight sold £500,000 worth of flashlights last year. Corporations have donated tens of thousands for use in refugee camps. Next, founder Mark Bent plans to sell the lights through the websites of cooperating non-profit groups.

Mark served for 14 years as a US State Department diplomat. Work took him to Bosnia, Somalia, Angola, Iraq and Mogadishu. The idea for making a flashlight came to him in Asmara, Eritrea, after he realised that local people were left in the dark once the sun set.

"I'm working in Africa for all these years and didn't know it was a problem because I lived in a compound as a diplomat," Bent said. "This whole new concept of social entrepreneurship is the coolest thing ever because we can make money doing the right thing."

Photo: SunNight Solar