Building what should already exist
I’m William Asefaw, an entrepreneur, builder, and founder of Saltchi, where we turn saltwater into light
My work begins with a simple belief, innovation isn’t about what’s next, it’s about what’s missing. Some things should already be here. Light in every home. Dignity in every invention. I build to close that gap.
During a visit to Kenya, I watched entire neighbourhoods vanish into darkness when the sun went down. Children stopped reading. Shops closed. Families waited for light that never came.
That moment stayed with me. Back home, I began experimenting with salt, water, and metal, simple materials with extraordinary potential.
After countless failures, one evening a small light flickered to life. That spark became Saltchi, and the beginning of everything that followed.
Some ideas aren’t radical. They’re just overdue.
Turning
Saltwater Into Light
Saltchi is a lamp and power bank powered entirely by saltwater, no batteries, no grid. It runs for days on a single refill and costs less than a cup of coffee to use. But Saltchi is more than a product.
It’s proof that innovation doesn’t have to be complex to be transformative. When design meets empathy, technology becomes human again. Learn More About Saltchi
Press
Building What’s Next
Saltchi is the first step in a longer journey.
A journey toward making essential things universal. I’m exploring new ways to design for inclusion, creating tools that belong in the hands of everyone, from off-grid communities to urban innovators. Energy. Education.
Access. Dignity. The goal isn’t to invent the future. It’s to fix the present, with creativity, collaboration, and care. Because progress shouldn’t be exclusive. It should be shared.
Conversations
That Matter
• Building What Should Already Exist – innovation as responsibility
• From Saltwater to Light – turning necessity into invention • The Human Element – creating beyond the algorithm