Africa’s exponential growth in mobile usage in the last decade isn’t in dispute here.

It’s whether smart clothes can charge smart phones, and whether Africa could be a viable market for such gear — those are the questions, according to an opinion piece in VenturesAfrica.

Lack of power infrastructure is a major hurdle in turning Africa’s mobile phone-owning population into the consumers they have the potential to be, according to Ehidiamhen Okpamen.

Africa has 15 percent of the world’s population but uses less than one sixth of the world’s average energy consumption, according to USAID. That means 600-plus million Africans and 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to sustainable electricity.

Enter a trouser collection dubbed “Modern Man” by British luxury fashion designer, A. Sauvage. The pants appear sleek, detailed and well-tailored. They’re luxurious.  It’s the pockets that warrant a closer look. Nicknamed “The Smart Trousers,” these pants can charge mobile phones.

The collection incorporates fashion and technology. Inductive charging via Nokia’s wireless charging plate — used for its smartphones — is built into pants.

This innovation could strike gold on the African continent, given the power challenges still facing  the emerging continent and the contrasting surge in mobile penetration and smartphone proliferation, Okpamen said.

The new mobile charging trousers could provide a short-term solution to this longstanding power problem. It could allow Africans to worry less about issues associated with operating a smartphone on the go. The ease and flexibility of charging could stimulate greater adoption and increased mobile penetration.

These pants could become an instant hit in Africa, Okpamen said. The stylish designs could appeal to younger age groups. Africa is predicted to hold the youngest working group in the next 50 years.