Jessica O. Matthews facts for kids

Jessica O. Matthews is a talented Nigerian-American inventor and a successful business leader. She is the co-founder of a company called Uncharted, which created the Soccket. This is a special soccer ball that can make electricity!

Matthews studied at Harvard College and later at Harvard Business School. She has received many awards for her work. Fortune magazine named her one of the "10 Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs" in 2011. In 2015, they called her one of their "Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs." In 2012, the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations honored her as "Scientist of the Year." Jessica Matthews is a citizen of both the United States and Nigeria. The President of Nigeria even named her an "Ambassador for Entrepreneurship" for her home country.

Early Life and Education

Jessica Matthews was born on February 13, 1988. She grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York. From a young age, she was a citizen of both the U.S. and Nigeria. She is the second of four children. Her parents ran a software business, which might have inspired her interest in technology. Her sister, Tiana Idoni-Matthews, later became a marketing director at Uncharted Play.

As a teenager, Jessica attended Our Lady of Lourdes High School. She enjoyed participating in science fairs and track and field sports. After high school, she went to Harvard College. There, she focused on Economics. Later, she continued her studies at Harvard Business School.

Inventing the Soccket

How the Idea Started

In 2008, when Jessica was a junior in college, she and her classmate Julia Silverman invented the Soccket. This was for an engineering class project. Jessica got the idea during a trip to Nigeria for her aunt's wedding. The electricity went out, and people had to use noisy diesel generators to keep the lights on. She noticed the harmful fumes from these generators. This made her want to find a safer and cleaner way to create power.

What is the Soccket?

Jessica and Julia came up with the Soccket as their solution. It's a soccer ball that stores kinetic energy as you play with it. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. So, the more you kick and play with the ball, the more energy it collects! Just 30 minutes of playing with the Soccket can create enough energy. This energy can power a small, attachable LED light for three hours. This means kids can play soccer and then use the light to do their homework after dark.

Starting Uncharted Play

After inventing the Soccket, Jessica and Julia started a company called Uncharted Power. Jessica became the CEO. After graduating from college in 2010, Jessica first worked at a company called CrowdTap. But the next year, she decided to work full-time on Uncharted Power. She raised money for the company through Kickstarter and other investments.

In 2013, she showed the Soccket to President Barack Obama during his trip to Tanzania. Her company also created another energy-storing product. It's a jump rope called the Pulse. Jumping rope for 15 minutes with the Pulse can power an LED light for three hours.

Growing the Company

Improving the Technology

At first, making the Soccket had some problems with quality. So, Jessica moved the production to Uncharted Play's own factories in New York. She then decided to focus on making a wider range of products that store kinetic energy. She wanted to work with experienced manufacturers.

This led to trademarking "MORE." MORE stands for Motion-based Off-Grid Renewable Energy. It's a system that uses the Soccket's energy-storing method in many different products. Jessica describes MORE as a special "building block" for energy. It can be put into things like floor panels, streets, sidewalks, and even shopping carts. This means everyday movements could create power!

Success and Expansion

By 2016, Uncharted Power was doing very well. It had been making a profit for three years in a row. In 2016, Jessica raised $7 million in funding for Uncharted Power. This made the company worth $57 million. TechCrunch reported that Jessica was one of the first black female founders to raise over $1 million in funding. By March 2017, about 500,000 Socckets and Pulses were being used. Most of these were in developing countries, especially in Africa and Latin America.

In 2016, Jessica moved Uncharted Power to Harlem, New York. She also started a non-profit group called the Harlem Tech Fund (HTF). This fund helps new tech companies in Harlem. It also offers technology training to people living there. Jessica is the chairman of the board for HTF. She was also recognized at the Harlem Economic Development Day for her work.

Other Projects

Jessica Matthews has also started working on big global projects. She is a co-founder and executive director of KDDC. This company is building a hydropower dam in Nigeria. A hydropower dam uses water to create electricity. This 30-megawatt dam is one of the first private hydroelectric dam projects in Nigeria.

In 2021, the U.S. Secretary of Energy appointed her to a special committee. This committee, called the Electricity Advisory Committee (EAC), advises the U.S. Department of Energy.

Recognition and Awards

Jessica Matthews has received many awards and honors for her innovative work.

• In 2013, Black Enterprise named her "Innovator of the Year."
• She was recognized by Forbes in their "30 Under 30" list in 2014.
• Inc. magazine also included her in their "30 under 30" list in 2016.
• Fortune magazine recognized her twice for her achievements.
• In 2020, she received the "One Young World Entrepreneur of the Year" Award.