According to CNN, Idris Ayodeji Bello is a leading example of an ‘Afropreneur’, a word he created to describe the bright, independent and tech savvy entrepreneurs using creative thinking and the power of innovation to take over Africa’s economic destiny.
At just 33 years old, NLI Associate Idris Ayodeji Bello has already been involved in several tech initiatives aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship and empowering communities across Africa.Early last year, he co-founded the Wennovation Hub in Nigeria, a technology space enabling ambitious entrepreneurs to come together and develop their trailblazing ideas into successful businesses.The Lagos-based hub, one of the many innovation centers that have recently mushroomed across Africa, has so far incubated the efforts of more than 100 entrepreneurs, providing them with space, support and consulting.
He also co-founded AfyaZima, a health technology and management startup that leverages the rise of mobile phones and other low-cost technologies across Africa to provide access to vital health information.The startup won the 2012 Dell Technology Award — in collaboration with the Oxford Engineering World Health Group – for Blood Pressure MCuff, a low-cost device that enables blood pressure monitoring and data transmission via mobile phones. The technology hence acts as a communication channel for doctors to remotely send treatment recommendations to their patients.
Bello’s most daring project to date is YoKwazi: an ambitious initiative aiming to change Africa’s education landscape by putting learning resources to the hands of students and teachers across the continent.
Still at testing stage, YoKwazi aims to deploy OTGPlaya, an offline wireless cloud device, in key community areas to house and host online educational tools. The device, which was incubated at the Wennovation Hub, will do a one-time download, store the content and make it available for people nearby to access it through their wi-fi enabled devices.
“It’s about bringing online education to an offline world,” says Bello.
On his legacy, Idris says his mission as an “Afropreneur” is to enable access to information so that people can tap into their own creativity to solve their problems without having to rely on government.
