ToughStuff

Founded in 2008 by two development professionals with extensive experience across Africa, ToughStuff hopes to replace the dominant forms of home energy and lighting, in efficient batteries and kerosene lamps, with an affordable, healthy, and environmentally-friendly suite of products. ToughStuff customers reap a number of lasting benefits from adopting their products. Given that ToughStuff is working with a leading international manufacturer they are able to provide products at prices as low as $12. This translates into an average savings for the customer of over $98 per year when compared to widely used alternatives. ToughStuff's products have an immediate positive impact on the environment by reducing the amount of CO2 released form burning kerosene or wood and reducing the number of batteries being used to power lights and other small appliances, such as radios, in the home. Home fires and respiratory diseases associated to kerosene are eliminated when ToughStuff's products are used. Finally, customers benefit from the increased productivity and safety that comes with having and using a brighter, longer lasting lighting source. In addition to the benefits that customers derive from ToughStuff, the company provides employment opportunities for those in the countries in which it operates and has developed a "Business in a Box" program that empowers local entrepreneurs with a set of ToughStuff products and training on how to rent or sell them to others, thereby creating more sustainable, social enterprises in local communities. The company's larger distribution model also includes selling products directly to other distributors in East Africa and abroad as well as to NGOs, promotional partners (such as mobile phone carriers), and other organizations which have existing access to remote parts of Madagascar and Kenya. Going forward, the company hopes to streamline its distribution system and potentially expand its sales into other countries.

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