The TRUE AFRICA 100 is our list of innovators, opinion-formers, game-changers, pioneers, dreamers and mavericks who we feel are shaping the Africa of today.
Sam Kodo is the 23-year-old founder of Infinite Loop, a Togo-based company that locally produces low-cost personal computers for students and for those with limited access to electricity. These computers plug into TVs or mobile phones, turning them into functional internet-enabled desktop PCs. He started designing robots at the age of eight. Now he employs six people.
What inspired you most when you began building robots?
When I was eight years old, I was inspired by the story of the Wright Brothers, who built the first planes, and Thomas Edison, who I read about in a magazine called Historia.
Young Africans also have to define clearly what their vision and goals are.
They made me realise that with less, we can accomplish so much more.
What do you think are the key resources needed for more young Africans to get into tech?
Our education systems have to include programmes that don’t only teach students to repeat information to get good marks, but also how to use their individual capacities to create and resolve problems in their communities.
It’s important to have goals for their countries too.
Young Africans also have to define clearly what their vision and goals are that they want to accomplish in the tech industry in the next 20 years. Scheduling goals and visions is important and isn’t common. It’s important to have goals for their countries too.
Who’s your African of the year?
I have two Africans of the year: Akon and the entrepreneur Tony Elumelu. Those two guys are doing incredible work for our continent.
Come back tomorrow for the next TRUE Africa 100 and keep up to date using the hashtag #TRUEAfrica