Harvard graduate students Nicole Mao, 33, and Zhu Yiwei, 32, have been building one of Bangladesh's hottest start-ups for three years after getting stuck in the country during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their battery-swapping network for electric rickshaws is surging in popularity and will reach 1,000 stations in 2025, mainly servicing the country's millions of three-wheeled taxi vehicles.
The duo's firm, Tiger New Energy, is making rickshaw drivers' lives easier by allowing them to swap to fresh batteries on the go. Drivers pay a fee for the service, but the time saved allows them to make more trips and earn more revenue.
"There's immense demand," said Ms Mao, the Dhaka-based start-up's chief executive officer, in an interview. "As the economy grows, more people are leaving rural areas for work opportunities in the cities. That is creating demand for mobility."
While the tuk-tuks of India and Thailand are mainly powered by gasoline or natural gas, the three-wheelers dominating the streets of Dhaka and other Bangladeshi cities are mostly electric. However, charging takes time and disposal of used lead-acid batteries creates health and environmental hazards.
Bu hikaye The Straits Times dergisinin December 27, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Straits Times dergisinin December 27, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
SLITHERING DANGER IN AFRICA
The snake struck 11-year-old Beatrice Ndanu Munyoki as she sat on a small stone, which lay atop a larger one, watching the family's eight goats.
Bad Bunny to Stage 21-Concert Residency in Puerto Rico
Megastar Bad Bunny announced on Jan. 13 a 21-concert residency in his homeland Puerto Rico, with the first nine shows limited to the island's residents.
Sean Lau named Best Actor for record fifth time
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
Photographer Oliviero Toscani famed for controversial Benetton ads
Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani, best known for his work on Benetton's provocative advertising campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s, including one featuring an Aids sufferer, died on Jan 13 aged 82.
Jisoo to put out second solo release on Valentine's Day
K-pop girl group Blackpink's Jisoo is set to return with a new release, almost two years after her solo debut.
Kate Winslet shines light on untold war story
British actress' biopic of World War II photographer Lee Miller took almost a decade to make
Los Angeles' wildfires are taking down storied architectural gems
To live in Los Angeles is to be regularly reminded that much of what surrounds its residents is fleeting. That pertains, most essentially, to human life and the natural world, as the deadly fires have reminded people.
Unstoppable casts light on single mum's struggle
As they try to help their children, parents often have to confront their own failings. This is one of the messages of the biographical sports drama Unstoppable, according to its star Jennifer Lopez.
Why West End Hits Get Panned in New York
\"Praise the lord for Tammy Faye,\" American filmmaker Matt Wolf cheered in The New York Times when the Elton John musical opened in London in 2022.
Childhood vaccines are not 'overloading' the immune system
It is an idea as popular as it is incorrect: American babies now receive too many vaccines, which overwhelm their immune systems and lead to conditions such as autism.
