Meet Sam Kodo: The Mark Zuckerberg of Africa

Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t the first computer programmer to gain international notoriety. In fact, he wasn’t the first to design a social media networking platform.

As far back as May 1997, Andrew Weinreich designed the first social media networking platform called Six Degrees. It had almost all the features we consider unique to Zuckerberg’s Facebook, like dedicated profiles, friends list, school/work affiliations, etc.

However, one thing that sets Zuckerberg apart is that in 2004 when he started Facebook at Harvard, he was only 19 years old. So even though the American computer programmer and entrepreneur made the social networking platform public eight years later, in 2012, he is celebrated for designing Facebook at 19.

Sam Kodo: Africa’s Tech Genius

Going by this, it appears Africa has a genius that surpasses Mark Zuckerberg, and he goes by Sam Kodo. Sam designed and programmed his first functional robot at eight from components he gathered from scrap electronics. 

At 15, Kodo built and programmed robots that recognized people and other objects. They could also communicate and play football. He designed a smartphone and computer before he turned 16.

At 19, the same age Zuckerberg designed the social networking platform Facebook; Sam was not only an experienced robotics builder, but he was also designing sensors and programming at the highest level.

Of Becoming And His Father’s Role

He was born and bred in Togo and was priviledged to have a father who was a physics lecturer at the University of Lomé. His father allowed him to spend many hours in the library of the Physics department playing around with books and studying equation formulas. During this time, he fell in love with electronics and programming.

When his parents discovered that he had a talent and passion for building things out of scraps, they gave him access to broken-down appliances around the house. Then, during an interview, he revealed that his mother would buy him toys – not to play with, but to tear apart and build something different from the scraps.

Milestones With Infinite Loop

Like Zuckerberg, who is now the chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and the highest Shareholder of META, Kodo is the Founder and CEO of Infinite Loop, a company he founded to produce low-cost computers for students in Africa locally. However, his computer prototype is unique. It is called the Lifebook PC and can fit into a shirt pocket.

To use them, one has to plug them into a TV set or mobile phone to turn them into a functional internet-enabled desktop PC. They cost less than $90, and Kodo has revealed that it costs his company about $40 to produce each Lifebook computer.

Recognitions

He has received many international accolades and revealed that his inspiration for creating the Lifebook PC was to assist students who need computers. “When I went to university, I realised there was a serious lack of tools to do my homework and university studies. So I decided to make my own computer so that it could help me work properly.

Kodo has been recognised by the Mandela Washington Fellowship and is an Anzisha Prize Fellow.

Do you think Sam Kodo is getting the recognition he deserves?