Young Entrepreneurs is what we Africans or Rather the world need to Develop, rarely do we meet a special species of genius, but when you meet one you are blessed. It’s not even 1 year down before the young Cameroonian was named as Google’ best Developer. These things go unnoticed and untapped in most scenarios, but with great mentorship and training, we will have the Greatest the Silicon Savannah, I believe in the young Generation.
Recently I came across Mudclo, a video search Engine Developed by a 19-year-old Ghanian Teen studying Sociology.So Fascinating that it’s always the non-IT that end up Creating great products.
Quoting “Before Graduating from high school in 2015, Gabriel swore to himself that he will build a search engine more powerful than Google! Although he didn’t fully manage to but he managed to create two of the Google alike platform of which one is already out in the Market, A video search engine and an Advertisement platform”
We Went Quite further to familiarise ourselves with our Young Talent, what is behind the great mind, the reasons why and some inspiration facts.
IA: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE WITH MUDCLO?
Gabriel Opare: I had very colourful dreams as a 17-year-old when I began Mudclo. Two years down the line and the dreams haven’t grown any less colourful. Mudclo has a mission; to create an online garment that will readily be worn by the African continent and whose tenacity with thrill Non-Africans. I want my company, Mudclo to be amongst the leading names with regard to video search and internet technology in the world. Already, Klear has ranked Mudclo in the top 2% of social media influencers. We are going beyond that, tearing down barriers and introducing to Africa and the world, technological innovations that they will marvel at. With the relevant funding, it won’t be a question of “what can you achieve?”. It will be a question of “what can’t we achieve?”
IA: WHY AND HOW DID YOU LEARN CODE?
Gabriel Opare: I have always believed in the diversity of skill as an indispensable way of adding value to a person. Although I study Sociology at the University of Ghana, I make time to involve myself in other things that appeal to me; writing, graphic designing, web designing, photography etc. It is amazing what new skills you can pick up both online and offline. I take short courses when school breaks and complement that by patronising free online educational services from websites like Alison and CodeCademy.
Mudclo may be solely mine but I cannot take all the credit for it. I liaised with other exceptional engineers like Nation Long Freeman to build it. Support from such people, family and friends were overwhelming and very much needed.
IA: WHAT INSPIRED YOU?
Gabriel Opare: When I was in high school, I fell in the company of some very ambitious young students who despite their age and utter lack of funding fought hard to actualize their dreams. They owned student-run companies from fashion sales to event organising. I even had a friend who once boasted that he was going to be the first person to literally build a castle in the air because every time he spoke to people about his seemingly unachievable dreams, they only said he was building castles in the air. That spirit of entrepreneurship caught up with me. I became fascinated with that dare to do attitude they each possessed. I can say definitively that my home continent Africa inspired me. I didn’t have to look any further for inspiration to begin Mudclo. The many young men and women across the continent who were fighting hard to establish enterprises and sway the clutches of unemployment were all that I needed. I came up with a mantra that “I am a martyr for my ideologies” and since 2015 when I began my Mudclo journey, I’ve never looked back.
IA: WHY A VIDEO SEARCH ENGINE?
Gabriel Opare: I set out to build a search engine that will be so formidable; people couldn’t mention the likes of Google, Yahoo without bringing it up. I failed. But I soon came to realise that if I could incline the search to certain criteria like videos alone then I wouldn’t need to compete vehemently with the big names in the search industry. Mudclo could be the best search engine that only searches videos. Some will call it minimalism but I call it ingenious manoeuvres. With more funding and mentorship who knows what new technology Mudclo might release with regard to online video search.
IA: ANY MENTORS?
Gabriel Opare: My mentors are innumerable. From my parents to notable entrepreneurs like Tony Elumelu to other startup entrepreneurs in Africa who are fighting hard to develop our beloved continent even further with relevant, breakthrough technologies. I recognise and appreciate all such people.
IA: WHY THE LOGIN AUTHENTICATION?
Gabriel Opare: When Mudclo began initially, it was riddled with online robots. We could receive as much a million search queries per day, many of which were irrelevant automated repetitions. Bots have been an issue for most tech companies around the world for a long time. Mudclo isn’t the first. There was a need, therefore, to provide a temporary measure to check the issue of bots while we worked on finding a more lasting solution. Hence the login, but users will discover that beyond the login page is a search engine whose search efficiency and streaming qualities are truly astounding.
