NEW MESSENGER FROM AFRICA

MARIST STUDENT LAUNCHES SOFTWARE STARTUP

By TAKUDZWA CAITANO

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic, it takes sweat, determination and hard work,” postulates a practical entrepreneur. The best way to solve problems is through practical entrepreneurship. I for one have always described the best product not as one which is fancy and steals the moment but one which gives real solutions to real problems. Luckily, in the 21^st century the most dominant weapons of practical entrepreneurship are technology and innovation.

The world has been transformed into a minute global village through the use and advent of technology. Technology has transformed once developing nations into developed economic powerhouses. The internet has formed the back bone of technology .The internet has become over the years the epitome of information exchange. In more precise and simpler terms, the internet is the “HUB OF EVERYTHING”. Despite the enormous benefits associated with the internet, Africa continues to lag behind in terms of internet penetration and innovation index. The main questions in Africa seem to be: “What will Gates and Microsoft offer next?”, “How much is Facebook and Zuckerberg making?” It is high time to stop asking these questions and see Africans standing up and say I am the new Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg of Africa.

Thanks to the introduction of STEM education, a 17 year old student from Marist Nyanga High and two University of Zimbabwe students emerged from the ashes of inferiority and ignorance and co-founded a software startup named Globe Connect with University of Zimbabwe electrical engineering majors Andrea Simbarashe ,the CTO of the company and Tavaka Tsigo, the Product Director. Globe Connect is an innovative software startup. We build software for the people by the people in order to make it universally useful and accessible to them. We are committed to explore the power of software to shape our future.

Globe Connect has received overwhelming support before or after the launch.Simbarashe Murondoti, the IDEAGLOBAL Chief Executive Officer and Tony Elumelo Fellowship new inductee said, “Globe Connect is great news to Zimbabweans and Africans as a whole, this is a deafening statement that youths have a pivotal role to play in the nation’s road to economic growth and I call upon everyone to support this productive course.” Takudzwa Caitano the CEO is a Yale Young Global and African Scholar, a five time national champion in debate and quiz and he scored 17As in his 2016 O’levels.He has also appeared on Power FM during an interview with DJ Butterpwly and Q Dube.

The emergence of such innovative and driven youths that are able to come up with game-changing initiatives goes on to reaffirm the immense contribution and positive change that STEM education has brought to Zimbabwe. Gone are the days when every youth would dream only of owning a farm because agriculture seemed to be the only promising field to make it big. STEM has ushered in a new generation of “21^st century entrepreneurs” that are willing to tap into lucrative industries such as the tech,oil,retailing,banking and real estate that have long being dominated by the rich and developed capitalists. The future of Zimbabwe and Africa indeed looks bright.

Globe Connect recently launched four products: GC Messenger, CloudViber, Soundnation and Amigo Education Portal.GC Messenger is an android instant messaging app.It allows users to chat with other users, create groups of up to 5 000 members, create and run a channel and also uses end to end encryption and is well equipped with an internal cloud storage functionality that allows users to store all their wonderful moments.Users can also call. The app has been featured on media platforms such as Africancurators.com and Pachikoro.co.zw.It can downloaded on cloudviber.globeconnect.center

.Soundnation.co.zw is a music networking, marketing, distribution and talent identication platform. Users are allocated 100GB space to upload audio tracks and share it to the nation. Many young artists have joined the platform and are already building their careers on Soundnation. One such musical prodigy is Tatenda Chimange, a Mutare based Zim Hip Hop who has released 2 albums so far and all have been featured on Soundnation.co.zw.Cloudviber.globeconnect.center is a full packed social networking app that allows users to share pictures, videos and audios. Users can also create profiles.

Amigo Education Portal is a revolutionary institution based e-learning platform. Students and teachers can create accounts on their school’s or college database .This allows schools to administer the whole learning experience of writing examinations, assignments and distribution of notes online. It also allows students and teachers to load e-books and pdfs and to share them to fellow learners. The platform comes at a time when Zimbabwe is implementing a new curriculum which is driven by research and Amigo.co.zw is going to supplement the new, flexible curriculum.

My fellow Zimbabweans remember that change always brings a dark night when everything falls apart. Yet if this period of dissolution is used to create new meaning, then chaos ends and new order emerges. The road to success is not a sprint but a marathon. We will face many barriers in our progressive road to economic development but let’s be united and be strong in order to alleviate all imminent barriers.

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