Google
on Tuesday announced the five winners of its Africa Connected competition at an
event in Nairobi, graced by world tech leaders. The competition was organised
to reward young Africans who explore internet space to their advantage.
“There
are over 1 billion people living in Sub-Saharan Africa and currently 16 percent
of them are online. With Africa Connected, we wanted to celebrate how the web
is changing lives in Africa, and show how it is contributing to the
socioeconomic development of the continent.
Selecting the shortlist was no easy
task: each winner shares a unique perspective of how they have used the
internet to solve a problem, earn a living, or create opportunities, not just
for themselves, but also for others around them”, says Affiong Osuchukwu,
Google Lead for the Africa Connected initiative.
Eseoghene
Odiete, one of the Nigerian winners shares her experience: “I discovered my
passion through YouTube search. When I graduated I needed to do something
meaningful with my life so I went in search of how to create handbags using
Google search and YouTube. I made a lot of discoveries that wowed my
imagination. That was how I started what got me here today”.
Eric
Obuh popularly known as Vocal Slender who used to be a dump site scavenger also
made the list of Nigerian winners “After I was discovered by the BBC in
‘Welcome to Lagos’, I became known around the world. Since then, I have
recorded songs which I share with new audiences on YouTube. I also use Google+
and YouTube to raise awareness about underprivileged youngsters in the slums of
Lagos, helping to raise scholarship money, and encourage kids to stay in
school” he hints
Christopher
Panford from Ghana runs a transport company helping Ghanaian drivers’ access
vehicle loans, which they use to earn a living. He uses Google Maps to
constantly monitor the location of vehicles under bank loans. This assures
banks that their loans are protected, while Christopher empowers more drivers.
Eunice
Namirembe from Uganda runs The Medical Concierge Group which helps Ugandan
communities’ access quality healthcare and information. Physician Eunice
has built a 24-hour ambulance call centre by using the Google Cloud console and
Google Maps to record patient information and track patient locations. With these
tools, Eunice and her team are able to help connect more Ugandans to medical
services, thus saving lives in the process.
Winner
and blogger from Kenya Sitawa Wafula says, “Right now I feel humbled and
honoured that mental health and epilepsy - which are considered taboo topics -
have been put on the same platform as some very innovative projects. I
can’t believe that doing what comes so naturally to me, to help raise awareness
about mental health, would be recognized by a company like Google, and be such
an inspiration to others.”
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