A 30-year-old Nigerian mobile phone maker, Michael Akindele, is beginning to attract attention from the global community, especially the international media.

Akindele is an application developer and co-founder of SOLO, a Nigerian smarthphone marker.

For instance, a Forbes contributor, Mfonobong Nsehe, describes the Nigerian as a serious challenger in the highly competitive smart phone business.

Akindele, he adds, is a mobile phone entrepreneur, who is challenging Apple in Africa.

According to Nsehe, SOLO has the wherewithal to compete with leading brands for the African mobile phone market.

Born in Washington DC to Nigerian parents in 1984, Akindele returned to Nigeria at two, spending 10 years in Ibadan, Oyo State. At 12, he returned to the US to continue his education, receiving a degree in engineering with focus on Computer Science and Information Technology.

Before venturing into mobile telephone and application creation, Akindele had been involved in business mentorship, having worked at Accenture in the US.

He recalls in the interview published by Forbes, “I gained valuable professional experience from being a technology analyst with Accenture. While at Accenture, I started working on a project, which gave birth to The Apprentice: Africa.

“A business partner and I successfully licensed an American reality game show from Mark Burnett Productions for the Sub-Saharan media market, which featured real estate magnate, businessman and television personality, Donald Trump.

“I returned to Nigeria in January 2007 and was part of a team that developed, produced and distributed the 18-week reality show – The Apprentice: Africa – that had a strong following in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.”

On how innovation could help reduce poverty in Africa, the entrepreneur says, “Wealth is in the mind” not pockets.

Akindele, who says everybody has enormous mental resource to achieve financial freedom, adds that every individual can benefit the society if they engage in rigorous thinking.

SOLO, established in 2013, he says, is driven by “speed and innovation.”

He notes that Africa, being the second biggest mobile phone market after Asia and predicted to hit 160 million users next year, offers massive opportunities for manufacturers.

His company, he stresses, looks forward to gaining from the growing market.

“This trend reflects the gradual change in consumer habits. More people are gaining their first Internet experience through mobile devices. This is the future of content distribution and value added services,” Akindele observes.

He also hopes the devices, which his team currently manufactures in Asia, will be produced in Africa when the business climate encourages that.

Listing the unique features of SOLO and the value it has added, he states that the fir, is ready for the unfolding competition in the mobile market.

According to him, the company has started affecting the society with no fewer than 160 employees already on its payroll.

The story of Akindele has added to the growing profile of Nigeria in the emerging information technology industry.

Last year, Chinedu Echeruo, a US-based Nigerian, made the list of the Forbes 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa.

Echeruo’s unique contributions to the relatively-new digital mapping informed his selection.

When HopStop, a travelling blog established by Echeruo, was acquired by Apple Inc. in 2013, the $1 billion-deal attracted attention in the industry.

Before the purchase, HopStop, which was founded in 2005, had two million monthly active users and launched an active service for reporting real-time delays and other information that made it a toast among travellers.

Again, before Apple bought it, the firm ranked among the top 1000 fastest growing companies in the US.

With reach in more than 300 cities, the firm has offered services on walking, biking and taxi to commuters.


Travelogy.com, another start-up travelling blog the Nigerian startup guru founded, is ranked as a fast unique service provider by different industry reviewers. Today Travel Media Group, another U.S. company, later acquired Trevelogy.com, an interactive travel referral service with focus on connecting travellers with travel specialists.

http://www.punchng.com/i-punch/nigerian-phone-maker-gets-global-attention/

gifted hands

http://phonegist..in/2014/02/solo-450-android-smartphone-specs-and.html?m=1



The Phone making sense wella

There's a very thin line between being creative/innovative and being crazy.

Great. Waow

creativity ...!!!

Good news

Creativity, God bless

Wooow

Good for him
Working on my phone named 'IJEWURU'
JOIN YOU SOON
cfcfan up blues

News like this gladdens my heart. News like a Pastor-proclaimed "demonized" nanny breaks my heart. News of GEJ being incompetent destroys my heart! Let us support change, this young man represents the change we seek! We can do this come May 28! CHANGE!

-CramJones

Nigerians always claiming successful people, if you ask this young man where he's from he's gonna tell you my parents are Nigerians but am an American.

Global attention? Hahahahhahaha!
No ask me why I dey laff!

I love news like this. Nice

Omo Yoruba atata

I'm not trying to run the guy down but solo is not the kind of the phone I'll advice anyone to use. if you buy it for your girlfriend as a birthday gift trust me she's going to return it the next day

Godmother:

Not at all, my dear.
I bought this SOLO android phone a few months ago and it has been one issue after the other

Pics please

Ok

cool i love innovation

So all I need to do is get peeps from China to create a phone for me then put my brand on the phone and I'd be labelled a "phone maker"...

This is not news... Kids make phones in China..

Wow this is the kind of news that gladdens my heart Creativity and Innovation @ it's peak

ribbit:
Omo Yoruba atata

Did You read this line.....

Last year, Chinedu Echeruo, a US-based Nigerian, made the list of the Forbes 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa.

nice

this isnt PDP vs APC............This is the real deal

Thank God they are termed NIGERIANS. The media play fair play this time around. If na b4 if it is bad they are nigerians but it it is good thry will be called british or american

Ogden na so Im disk big rich sotey they call am global attention

I always say it that there are many brains in the country. But the problem has always been the captain navigating the ship. Huge investment in Science and Technology will put Nigeria in the map of force to reckon in technical intelligence. Take for example India and China, they took the initiative years back. Right now an average Indian is seen as IT guru and a typical Chinese as an Asian whiz kid. Give my people something to engage them productively and see the whole world singing Nigeria praises everywhere.

Shoro niyen?.... [color=#990000][/color] quote author=CFCfan post=31560586]A 30-year-old Nigerian mobile phone maker, Michael Akindele, is beginning to attract attention from the global community, especially the international media.

Akindele is an application developer and co-founder of SOLO, a Nigerian smarthphone marker.

For instance, a Forbes contributor, Mfonobong Nsehe, describes the Nigerian as a serious challenger in the highly competitive smart phone business.

Akindele, he adds, is a mobile phone entrepreneur, who is challenging Apple in Africa.

According to Nsehe, SOLO has the wherewithal to compete with leading brands for the African mobile phone market.

Born in Washington DC to Nigerian parents in 1984, Akindele returned to Nigeria at two, spending 10 years in Ibadan, Oyo State. At 12, he returned to the US to continue his education, receiving a degree in engineering with focus on Computer Science and Information Technology.

Before venturing into mobile telephone and application creation, Akindele had been involved in business mentorship, having worked at Accenture in the US.

He recalls in the interview published by Forbes, “I gained valuable professional experience from being a technology analyst with Accenture. While at Accenture, I started working on a project, which gave birth to The Apprentice: Africa.

“A business partner and I successfully licensed an American reality game show from Mark Burnett Productions for the Sub-Saharan media market, which featured real estate magnate, businessman and television personality, Donald Trump.

“I returned to Nigeria in January 2007 and was part of a team that developed, produced and distributed the 18-week reality show – The Apprentice: Africa – that had a strong following in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.”

On how innovation could help reduce poverty in Africa, the entrepreneur says, “Wealth is in the mind” not pockets.

Akindele, who says everybody has enormous mental resource to achieve financial freedom, adds that every individual can benefit the society if they engage in rigorous thinking.

SOLO, established in 2013, he says, is driven by “speed and innovation.”

He notes that Africa, being the second biggest mobile phone market after Asia and predicted to hit 160 million users next year, offers massive opportunities for manufacturers.

His company, he stresses, looks forward to gaining from the growing market.

“This trend reflects the gradual change in consumer habits. More people are gaining their first Internet experience through mobile devices. This is the future of content distribution and value added services,” Akindele observes.

He also hopes the devices, which his team currently manufactures in Asia, will be produced in Africa when the business climate encourages that.

Listing the unique features of SOLO and the value it has added, he states that the fir, is ready for the unfolding competition in the mobile market.

According to him, the company has started affecting the society with no fewer than 160 employees already on its payroll.

The story of Akindele has added to the growing profile of Nigeria in the emerging information technology industry.

Last year, Chinedu Echeruo, a US-based Nigerian, made the list of the Forbes 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa.

Echeruo’s unique contributions to the relatively-new digital mapping informed his selection.

When HopStop, a travelling blog established by Echeruo, was acquired by Apple Inc. in 2013, the $1 billion-deal attracted attention in the industry.

Before the purchase, HopStop, which was founded in 2005, had two million monthly active users and launched an active service for reporting real-time delays and other information that made it a toast among travellers.

Again, before Apple bought it, the firm ranked among the top 1000 fastest growing companies in the US.

With reach in more than 300 cities, the firm has offered services on walking, biking and taxi to commuters.


Travelogy.com, another start-up travelling blog the Nigerian startup guru founded, is ranked as a fast unique service provider by different industry reviewers. Today Travel Media Group, another U.S. company, later acquired Trevelogy.com, an interactive travel referral service with focus on connecting travellers with travel specialists.

http://www.punchng.com/i-punch/nigerian-phone-maker-gets-global-attention/
[/quote]

If our government can lure these group of pple back home our problms will definitely go down south. China a good example.

I love this. Good work Michael.