Electricity shortages in Africa have prompted US entrepreneurs to create a cheap solar powered cell phone and tablet charger that can power up devices while even being underwater.

Dubbed the ‘World Panel’ and developed by a US company of the same name, the solar charging device range is planned to be launched at the 2013 AfricaCom conference in Cape Town, South Africa being held November 12 to 14.

The company’s chief executive officer John Anderson says World Panel has specifically designed the solar products to target African feature phone, smartphone and tablet users with a plan to launch the chargers to market in early 2014.

Two portable solar chargers are expected to be unveiled at AfricaCom: the World Panel 500 and World Panel 1000. The WP-500 solar charger can charge up to six or more phones per day, while the WP-1000 has a capacity for 10 or more devices per day, says World Panel.

Using 'direct-from-the-sun' technology to charge a mobile device, a World Panel video illustrates how the device can draw more power than even a wall socket connected to the electricity grid. The video even shows how the World Panel charger, while underwater, can continue charging mobile devices.

The bid to launch the World Panel products in Africa comes at a time when the continent is becoming increasingly dependent on mobile phones, while also largely lacking access to sufficient electricity supplies required to charge these devices.

Africa is the second largest mobile phone market in the world with over 700 million network subscriptions, says the GSMA.

But according to the World Bank, only 24% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa has access to electricity while 25 countries on the continent are facing an electricity crisis, evidenced by chronic rolling blackouts.

As a result, small cellphone charging station businesses have sprung up across Africa that specialise in charging multiple devices.

Also, solar chargers for mobile devices are already sold in countries such as South Africa and Ghana, with prices ranging between R250 to thousands of rands.

But World Panel has told ITWeb Africa that its solar chargers are planned to be ‘affordable’ for Africans.

“Telecom providers will price our units in an attractive range for their subscribers since a charging solution will ultimately boost their average revenue per user (ARPU) if phone batteries are dead less frequently,” Cheryl Gordon, co-founder and marketing director at World Panel, told ITWeb Africa.

“Our best answer is that the World Panel will cost phone subscribers less than the amount of one month's total mobile expenditures,” she said.

“We will leave the retail pricing to the telecoms,” Gordon concluded.

According to GSMAmobileeconomy.com, Africa’s ARPU has declined by 10% annually from 2008 to 2012. In 2008, the ARPU was $12.20. Last year the continent’s ARPU was recorded at $7.90.

Meanwhile, other features of the World Panel charging solution are set to include five hours of talk with one hour charge and the charger can power 2G, 3G and 4G phones.

The chargers are also said to power any USB device and can be linked together using a 'PowerLink' to double or triple the output.