When Sukant Ratnakar said you should not get obsolete like old technology, but keep innovating yourself, he must have thought of Liston Cosmas. Twenty year old Liston grew up in a village in Arusha, Tanzania. His family was disadvantaged and had limited resources which made him dream bigger. His love for technology was evident from an early age.
After completing my sponsored primary school education, I developed a windmill. This was because I had identified a huge need of lack of electricity in my village growing up. I approached various partners in vain. One person who bought in to my vision funded the idea.
Liston pursued his high school education in South Africa. He had always wanted to develop his own mobile phone and when the nationwide Science Congress competition was announced, he developed a mobile phone that got the attention of professors, organizations and the masses in Africa and abroad.
I was still perfecting my windmill idea while in high school. I have always believed in one of my purposes being making life better in my village. Between 2012 and 2013 while in high school, I developed an electronic powered generator that is powered by cow dung and runs on hydrogen gas. I won first position nationwide in the science fair. There was high demand for the product. I sold three to the members of public. It was surreal.
Liston got a scholarship to join the African Leadership Academy in 2014 to study entrepreneurship. He is also a YALI RLC E.A 2017 alumni.
With a friend, they founded an NGO, Cicle of Influence Projects Society in 2015. The organization trains entrepreneurship to high school students. They have had 25 students go through the program.
The multi talented Liston also identified a need for tractors for farmers in his village, who mostly use their hands because of lack of resources. He took it upon himself to build an affordable tractor from scratch that is fuelled on cow dung. His prototype got feedback from farmers and he is currently working on its improvements.
I still get orders for windmills and generators so I spend almost all my time in the garage. It's also been one year in to real adult life since high school. In August of this year I will be joining University of Rochester in the U.S to pursue Electrical and Computer Engineering. My vision is to come back even more energized and full of knowledge that will help improve my country.
His vision is to create an African tech brand that offers affordable products and solutions to pressing issues in the electricity and agriculture industries.
Young people should believe in themselves. Every time people look at me and my age, they doubt me until they see my work. The brain is rich, extremely wealthy, we just don't tap in to it more often. Go for it, explore your brain and don't stop, it will surprise you and the world at what you can create.
Keep soaring Liston, you have taken your own bold approach, and you will continue to be rewarded.
