The governorate of Kebili is one of Tunisia’s regions most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, registering 96 confirmed cases so far. The region has only only 20,600 inhabitants but 10% of the country’s cases. As a result, the Kebili Hospital has come under a lot of pressure to respond to the crisis and to provide the best care for its patients. Entrepreneurs in the region, like Houssem Ben Hamed, founder of TechnoSOLAIRE, are volunteering their expertise to help tackle the health crisis.
TechnoSOLAIRE provides photovoltaic panels and solar-powered water pump systems for private individuals and the region’s agricultural sector. The business has also gained recognition for its innovative, social projects in the energy sector including the development of Tunisia’s first solar-powered wheel chair in 2019.
With the arrival of COVID-19 in Tunisia, Houssem immediately joined frontline workers, putting his IT and industrial engineering expertise to use for the benefit of the community. In the last few weeks, the 27-year-old entrepreneur has designed and installed a sterilization chamber in the region’s hospital and is currently working on the design of an innovative robot – both entirely self-funded.
The state-of-the-art robot enables remote communication (by telephone) between patients and medical workers, and also facilitates the distribution of medicines and meals. Powered by a system of TechnoSOLAIRE solar-powered batteries, this amazing feat of engineering took Houssem and his team of 3 employees only 10 days to build.
Installed on April 15, TechnoSOLAIRE’s sterilization chamber enables the disinfection of each person entering or leaving the COVID-19 unit of the hospital –an unprecedented innovation for the health sector in Kebili and Tunisia. In March the young entrepreneur also designed an infrared thermometer to help screening for coronavirus – a project he was sadly forced to abandon due to a lack of available equipment.
Kebili Hospital is grateful for the support of the region’s entrepreneurs and is happy to collaborate with local firms like TechnoSOLAIRE. Never short of creativity, it is safe to say that Houssem’s innovative solutions will be crossing borders in the years to come.