Michael Akindele, a 30 year-old Nigerian, is a director and a co-founder
of SOLO Phone, an experience-driven digital content and smartphone
company focused on delivering the best content and services on the
mobile platform to African consumers.
SOLO Phone, which was established in Nigeria in 2012, is an
experience-driven mobile device manufacturer which aims to provide the
best content and services to the African consumer at an affordable
price. The company manufactures smartphones priced at $150, bundled with
free music of up to 20 million songs licensed from Sony, Universal and
Warner. SOLO also recently launched a Video-On-Demand App available to
all Android devices in Nigeria which offers the latest Nollywood and
Hollywood movies from global movie studios.
In a forbes recent chat with Akindele where he recounted his
entrepreneurial journey and explained why he feels SOLO phones will give
other smartphones a run for their money.
What’s your personal and professional background?
I was born August 29, 1984 in Washington D.C., to Nigerian parents. At
the age of 2 years old, my family moved to Nigeria and spent the next 10
years in Ibadan. At the age of 12, my family returned to the US where I
continued my education in Alexandria, Virginia. After graduating from
T.C. Williams High School, I attended George Mason University in
Fairfax, VA where I received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree from
the Volgneau School of Engineering with a focus on Computer Science and
Information Technology. I also received a minor in Business
Administration from George Mason’s School of Management. While at George
Mason I was a member of the Track & Field Team and competed in the
hurdles and middle distance running events. Being an athlete on a
Division I Track & Field team gave me the confidence I needed to
take on events outside of sports and a chance to win. Two days after
graduating from George Mason I began my career as a Technology
Consultant with Accenture. I gained valuable professional experience
from being a Technology Analyst with Accenture. While at Accenture, I
started working on a project, which quickly progressed and birthed The
Apprentice: Africa. A business partner and myself successfully licensed
an American reality game show from Mark Burnett Productions for the
Sub-Saharan media market, which featured real estate magnate,
businessman and television personality Donald Trump. I returned to
Nigeria January 2007 and was part of a team that developed, produced and
distributed the African edition of an 18 week reality show titled The
Apprentice: Africa that had a strong following in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda. For more click Nigerian Entrepreneur News:
No comments:
Post a Comment