Michael Akindele is a 30 year old Nigerian who co-founded and is director of SOLO phone. SOLO is a smartphone company that was established in 2012 that delivers content and mobile services to African users. While large majorities of the world have access to smartphones and the internet, Africa is still a place where that is not necessarily the case. The company produces, designs, and manufactures smartphones that are priced around $150. Each phone is bundled with up to 20 million songs free of charge under a license agreement with Warner, Universal and Sony. The phones also offer video on demand via an app on all Androids in Nigeria. Akindele wants to help bring the continent of Africa into the mobile world, and SOLO is his solution.
Born in Washington DC to Nigerian parents, Michael returned to Nigeria with his family when he was two years old where they lived for the next ten years. He returned to the states for high school and university where he earned a degree in computer science and Information Technology from George Mason University in Alexandria, Virginia. While at George Mason University, he was a member of the D1 track and field team and credits the hard work in the classroom and on the track as to what helped him learn discipline and hard work to achieve his personal goals.
After graduating from George Mason University, he went to work for Accenture as a technology consultant. While at Accenture, he was able to acquire the license for “The Apprentice – Africa” from Mark Burnett Productions. He developed, distributed, and produced the 18-week reality show that gained a wide following in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
This experience helped him to create original content for the African market. He then went on to produce a pilot for an original 3D animated series. It was at this point that Michael recognized that if someone could introduce affordable smartphones designed for the African market, that person would have a leg up on the competition. Since the Sub-Saharan market is one of the fastest growing markets for mobile devices, second only to Asia, the users would need not only the devices themselves but content for and on those devices. This is how SOLO came to be.
But what makes SOLO different from any of those Chinese companies like Huawei, Xiaomi, or Oppo? SOLO is an experience driven device manufacturer with a corporate vision to provide content and services to the African market at affordable prices. But the vision does not end there. By providing content that the African consumer wants, SOLO believes it can actually enrich lives. Most people in Nigeria engage with songs, videos, or other web based content via a mobile device as it is more affordable to own a smartphone rather than a computer. By strengthening the content that is delivered via the SOLO devices, the Nigerian people can engage with education, healthcare, and commerce content that can actually change their daily lives, or so Akindele hopes. This is why Michael created SOLO and what motivates him to improve the product and offerings. Right now, the bulk of his consumer base is in Nigeria with hopes and intentions to grow throughout the entire Sub-Saharan region.
Getting a project of this magnitude off the ground was not easy and cost quite a bit of money. The initial start up costs for SOLO was funded by its founders who generously contributed to its vision. In December 24 of 2013, SOLO closed their first round of funding led by Adlevo Capital and Kuramo Capital.
Another goal of the company will be to actually manufacture the devices in Africa. Currently, due to the economics of the business and the infrastructure within most of Nigeria, the devices cannot be manufactured there but rather are made in China and then shipped to Nigeria. Then, they are distributed to a network of cellular retailers and e-commerce sites within Nigeria.
So what is next for this young company? SOLO has co-branded affordable Smarphones with Airtel. They want to continue their relationships with their partners in order to continue to offer the best content and services to potential customers in this emerging market. The driving force at the company is to offer valuable services to low earning consumers for the sole purpose of enriching their lives. Lofty goals indeed, but this 30 year old is actually doing what he has set out to do and he seems to be making a positive impact.
Photo from talkmedianigeria.com
