SolarKobo, a startup, invented by young
Ogbonnaya Bassey emerged winner out of a pool of 124 applications across
34 countries in an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organised Young
Innovators Competition ITRealms
reports.
Bassey is joint winner with Ugur Can
Bastik, a young entrepreneur from Turkey who built TactiX, a tactile smartphone
for the blind. They have both been invited to attend the Intel-sponsored in
Budapest, Hungary between October 12-15, 2015 for an opportunity to pitch their
ideas, participate in workshops, benefit from a year of ongoing mentorship, and
win seed funding.
ITU Telecom
World is a global event which brings together policy makers, regulators,
industry leaders, SMEs and entrepreneurs to explore accelerating ICT
innovations for social and economic development. The Young Innovators
Competition is an integral part of the event which recognizes gifted young
entrepreneurs who have ideas for innovative social enterprises, as a result of
development challenges
SolarKobo, ITRealms gathered, is an innovation that
will allow small businesses and families benefit from solar systems for
relatively low monthly fees and will use single board devices for remote
monitoring and customer payment systems. This will be achieved through the
provision of solar powered systems with zero-upfront financing in Nigeria as a
cheaper, more reliable and cleaner electricity source than the private gasoline
generators which are widely used to supplement the insufficient public
electricity supply.
Bassey said, “Most of the ingredients for our success
exist. The need is critical, the demand for our solution is proven, the
technology is tested and we have a sustainable model. We applied to the Young
Innovators Competition to create awareness for our cause, get seed funding,
investment, mentorship, and access to help from Intel in developing smarter
systems.”
ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao, said, “These talented young people have made great
use of ICTs to meet a wide range of development goals, and their innovations
have the potential to impact lives for the better. Start-ups such as these have
a key role to play within our ICT ecosystem and I am very pleased that ITU
Telecom World 2015 is providing them the global platform to showcase their
innovations.
The Vice President and General
Manager, Governments and World Ahead, Intel Corporation, Gordon Graylish, ITRealms learnt, said about the
competition: “We are extremely
honoured to be part of such a great initiative. We are even more impressed with
the fantastic work from the young innovators. As a company, we are always
looking to work with the brightest minds to make a positive impact, develop new
technologies and make a difference. Part of this is creating new jobs in ICT
and helping these fresh ideas to thrive. The brilliant ideas put forward –
whether it is helping the blind to communicate in a digital world or
encouraging more people to use solar power.
Cyriacus Nnaji/ED,OPs
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