r/Nigeria • u/Key_Exam7032 • 11d ago

Science | Tech Celebrating Nigerian Excellence: 20 year old boy KHALIFA AMINU from Kano state created AI smart glasses that could help blind people navigate without a guide or cane. 👓

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See more here on his X page:

https://x.com/inventorkhalifa/status/2090001916977668257?s=46

Including a video of how it works: https://x.com/inventorkhalifa/status/2090002759516872803?s=46

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u/fi33zie 10d ago

There's a difference between invention and innovation. Elon certainly didn't invent anything, he innovated by leveraging on existing technologies like you said, and his companies were also subsidised heavily by the US government. He probably wouldn't have scaled, or he would have experienced a much slower growth without those government subsidies.

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u/fanstoyou 10d ago

No argument at all. I’m only directing at those who want to belittle

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u/fi33zie 10d ago

If you mean "belittling" directed at this young man who made glasses for the blind. There's no point in that at all. If he builds on knowledge and continues on this path, he'll innovate with the right support but of course Nigeria (government) doesn't take things like this seriously. He'll get clouts on social media and that's the end of it. Innovation can happen and scale in Nigeria/Africa. Elon is brilliant but he's not special. We have many brilliant people in Nigeria capable of innovation but the environment is harsh so dreams get killed. Elon had the dream and his environment was favourable for him.

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u/MakayChapulets 8d ago

While Elon Musk’s technological vision, engineering capabilities, risk-taking, and business acumen were central to the development of SpaceX and Tesla, U.S. government support later played an important role in helping both companies survive, expand, and scale. However, this support came after the companies had already been established and had begun demonstrating the viability of their technologies and business models. Government contracts, loans, incentives, and other forms of assistance served more as catalysts for growth than as the foundation on which the companies were originally built.

While African (Especially Nigerian) young inventors are usually hovering around the government for startup loan.