Jessica Matthews and Julia Silverman developed the Soccket when they were college students at Harvard. Jessica’s family is from Nigeria. Julia is from Chicago, but she had spent time in Africa. They both knew that the lack of energy in Africa was a problem. So, they tried to use soccer to improve energy poverty.

In 2011, Jessica and Julia started an organization to distribute the Soccket. The organization is called Uncharted Play, and it is based in New York City. Uncharted Play does not sell the Soccket directly. Instead, it partners with companies and NGOs to give the Soccket to communities that need it.

“We don’t make any profit right now. Just kidding, we do.”

Alison Dalton Smith is the communications director at Uncharted Play. She explains that Uncharted Play is not exactly a business…and not exactly an NGO. She calls it a “social enterprise.” In other words, the organization is a business designed to solve a social problem.

Alison says starting or working for a social enterprise is increasingly common among people born in the 1980s or later.

“We want to dedicate our lives and our education to making the world a better place for everyone, not just for ourselves.”

In fact, Alison is so dedicated to making sure people in Africa get the Soccket that she worked for free. Now, she is one of seven paid staff at Uncharted Play. At 30, she is the oldest person who works there. None of the employees receives health insurance or retirement savings. But Alison says money is not as important to her right now as connecting to others.