A tiny USB top-up charger designed by a team of Palestinian tech entrepreneurs has raked in around $70,000 on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform—nearly five times its original funding target.
The BOLD Knot, which comes in the shape of a knot keychain made of parachute rope, provides smartphones with up to three hours of extra talk time and charges twice as fast as standard USB cables. Furthermore, the BOLD Knot will also begin charging itself after it has fully powered up a device. This is achieved by blocking data from passing through the wires while maintaining them exclusively to convey power.
BOLD Knot’s West Bank-based founders, Ismat Tuffaha and Lama Mansour, joined forces with Estonian hardware accelerator Buildit to access the mentoring, technical support, and facilities they needed to get their product finalized.
Khaled Samer Shakaa, a partner in the project, said one of the funding options offered on Indiegogo was the choice of purchasing the BOLD Knot for $39, $10 below the retail price. If further funding is forthcoming, Shakaa said more features could be added to the BOLD Knot in the future. These include an even faster charging USB and an LED light that shows how much battery power is available.