Okonjo-Iweala, Chimamanda Adichie, Olugbenga Agboola and Others Make Forbes’ 100 Innovation, Inventions and Icon’s List
Nigeria is home to academic geniuses and superstars across a wide range of sectors and industries. The 100th issue of Forbes Africa recently recognized 100 innovations, inventions and icons across various industries as a way of celebrating the creativity of the African mind, award-winning ideas that have defined the African continent and influential role models that have spelt Africa’s growth over the last decade.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, World Trade Organization Director-General; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, award-winning writer; Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave Founder/CEO; and Swanky Jerry, Nigerian celebrity fashion stylist made the Forbes Africa’s 100 Innovations, Inventions and Icons from Africa list. Also, Burna Boy, Grammy award winner, Davido, Wizkid, Mr Eazi, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Genevieve Nnaji, and Funke Akindele-Bello were included on the list.
Read Also: Temie Giwa-Tubosun, Ada Osakwe and Others Are Recipients of the Forbes Woman Africa Awards 2021
Please see below additional details of some of these features on forbesafrica.com
Inventions
RESPIRE-19
Like most African countries, Nigeria has seen a significant shortage of ventilators to treat patients with severe Covid-19 symptoms. Thus, the invention of RESPIRE-19, a portable automatic emergency ventilator made from locally sourced materials. This life-saving device was created by Usman Dalhatu and his colleagues Aliyu Hassan and Dr Yunusa Muhammad Garba.
Wellvis
Invented by Dr Wale Adeosun and his team, Wellvis is a free online tool that allows users to do a self-assessment of their symptoms against a pre-programmed check-list of confirmed Covid-19 symptoms. This tool also offers medical advice or provides information on the nearest medical centre that a user can visit for treatment.
Koniku Kore
Osh Agabi has a brain for science. Using neuron cells taken from mice stem cells, he was able to fuse them with a silicon chip and create Koniku Kore. The full application of this device still needs thorough trials and testing to be completed. Agabi has claimed that the device, when infused correctly, will allow for the carrier to even detect bombs and cancer cells. He hopes for it to eventually be able to sniff out other types of illnesses and be applied to other areas of necessity.
Teseem
Teseem is an app that teaches toddlers and children numeracy and languages including Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and Swahili. The app’s main purpose is story-telling, as an archive of African folklore tales and songs are included in local vernacular so children can learn about their culture and heritage in a format that is easy to digest and take in.
Innovations
Payment Processor: Flutterwave
Flutterwave, founded by Olugbenga Agboola is based on a financial application programming interface that makes it simpler to process payments across Africa. It is not just a useful tool for individuals, but also an enabling technology because it helps other businesses, including start-ups. While Flutterwave is useful within countries, the unique nature of Africa makes it doubly useful across borders.
On-Demand Oxygen, Airbank
Founded by Temie Giwa-Tubosun in 2020, Airbank is an on-demand emergency medical oxygen delivery product that is the quickest, most convenient, and cost-effective way to order medical oxygen in cylinders.
Money Transfer App: Kaoshi
Chukwunonso Arinze created the Kaoshi mobile app to connects expatriate immigrants and money senders across the globe. It boasts of being able to help users “send money to anywhere in the world quickly and without paying expensive fees”.
Icons
CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
Known for her feminism which comes across not only in her books but in the way she speaks, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has brought the power of narrative to all the work she has done. The Half of a Yellow Sun author has been described by The Times Literary Supplement as “the most prominent” of a “procession of critically acclaimed young Anglophone authors [which] is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature”, particularly in the United States.
NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and the first African to hold the office as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization. Okonjo-Iweala has made history, and she was FORBES AFRICA’s African of the Year in 2020.
Other icons on the list include Davido, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Funke Akindele-Bello, Mr Eazi, Rose Leke and Swanky Jerry.
View the complete list on www.forbesafrica.com