In 2013, SODAQ chose to follow the vision of designing IoT devices for a better world, with as little impact on the environment. Little impact implied we needed to reduce power consumption and use harvested power. Less power consumption can be achieved by the principles of (1) sleeping as much as you can, (2) work as little as you have to and to (3) keep communication short. Using harvested power means you do not generate power in traditional polluting ways but using the energy around us, like the sun, heat or kinetic energy (movement). 

SODAQ started in 2013 offering low power weather stations across Africa. The necessity for communication solutions in remote areas combined with sensors turned into one of the first Internet of Things (IoT) solutions globally. SODAQ stands for Solar powered Data Acquisition. “In this regard, to this day nothing has changed, except the size of our operation and number of projects and products. Sticking to a strategy can actually reinforce your strengths.”  - Jan Willem Smeenk - CEO and founder of SODAQ