Lumkani launches #LetsStopFire crowdfunding campaign

Cape Town, South African-based startup Lumkani has launched its crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to help prevent the spread of fires in urban slums with its networked fire detector.

After winning half-a-million rand from Chivas Regal’s social entrepreneurship competition earlier this year, Lumkani will soon travel to Silicon Valley where it will pitch for a welcoming US$1-million.

The team has developed a smart device which integrates with the mesh network of in-home fire detectors. This device sends text messages to community members with the location of the fire. Simultaneously, it stores GPS coordinates of the fire which we will send to the fire department in future, giving them accurate location information of fires in real-time.

Read more: Impact Beyond Innovation: How Lumkani’s fire detection system is saving lives

The crowdfunding campaign is part of the global competition from Chivas in an effort to help raise awareness as well as a goal of US$45 000.

“For us this campaign will raise our profile globally and give decision makers around the world the information that there is a solution to slum fires in their respective neighbourhoods, countries, municipalities etc.,” Lumkani MD David Gluckman told Ventureburn last week.

The social startup also revealed that it’s currently working on a second version of its product which it hopes to launch within the next two to three months. It’s also looking to expand its market to Johannesburg.