2,030 Abibisika (Black Gold) Points

Rank: Unranked Newbie

Around 2016 Simon Petrus (middle) invented a cell phone that made free calls. He developed the phone in an effort to solve the country’s wireless problems. A Namibian 12th grade student had invented a phone that did not require a sim card, therefore did not need airtime to make calls, making it completely free. From Namibia’s Ohagwena Region and a student at Abraham Iyambo Senior Secondary School, he became a household name in the southern Afrikan country for his ingenious inventions throughout the past few years.

He developed the phone in an effort to solve the country’s wireless problems, using spare parts from a phone and a television set, according to How Africa. The phone featured a charger socket, light bulb and fan and functions off a radiator power, with the ability to make calls to anywhere using radio frequencies. The prototype was quite large at this stage, encased in a box made up of a radio system with the capability of viewing one TV channel.

The year before, Petrus had won a national gold medal for developing a machine that both dries and cools seeds. His latest invention had been in the works for two years during this time and he hopes to develop the phone further. Petrus parents, although unemployed helped financed their sons projects and the hope that others will help to take the project further. According to the Namibian, other student inventors such as Joshua Nghaamwa have had a national impact.

Nghaamwa reportedly created a satellite from radios and cellphones. The satellite is compact and allows connectivity to a cellphone, router or modem that increases internet speed. He also hopes to introduce the device throughout Afrika to make the internet more accessible throughout the country.