When your startup idea needs support, who else would you dream to turn to other than the influential people of the world?
Aisa Mijeno, engineer, social worker, and co-founder of Sustainable Alternative Lighting (SALt) is living every entrepreneur’s dream as she has received support from Chinese billionaire Jack Ma.
In an interview with Rappler, Mijeno said that Jack Ma encouraged her and her brother, Raphael, to “enter his entrepreneurship school” – a “sort of an incubator” for startups. The siblings are the co-founders of the Philippine startup SALt, an environment-friendly lamp powered by seawater or saline solution.
Engineer Mijeno and the Alibaba founder met in the APEC CEO Summit in Manila, in a panel moderated by U.S. President Barack Obama. During the talk, the engineer pointed out that proper mentorship in scaling up their project is what startups in the Philippines need the most.
U.S. President Obama also expressed his support to highlight this new innovation. According to Engineer Mijeno, SALt and its story will be featured on the White House website to help its exposure.
SALt lamp was conceived in 2012, after Mijeno witnessed how a Philippine tribe heavily relies on kerosene and candles for light source, often walking up to several kilometres every other day just to buy these commodities. The initiative has already received special awards and recognitions because of its potential to help the people in far-flung places. Currently, the lamp is in its final prototype and is set to scale up by 2016.
