Chris Kwekowe - the 22yr old Nigerian who rejected job offer from Bill Gates

[Mask]

Chris Kwekowe

• 
• Year Selected: 2015
• Age at selection: 22
• Venture: Slatecube
• Country: Nigeria
• Sector: Technology

Chris Kwekowe's #ANZISHAEFFECT



Chris Kwekowe is an innovative entrepreneur and technology consultantthat believes that the average young African is the driving force for global impact and sees ICT as the propellant on which this goal is dependent on.

Chris and his team launched an amazing service that adequately solves the constraints of e-learning and also adds a juicy flair of valuable innovation. This service is called Slatecube. It allows students to study at their convenience, build Cool stuff based on their chosen field of learning, work with real organizations to acquire industry-relevant skills and finally create social impact.

Last year, a group of students signed up to test the beta version of Slatecube. They learnt and acquired industry-relevant skills and were eventually adopted as interns in reputable ICT firms. After the course and experience with the platform, 100% of them have gone on to strike deals that’ll see them work for top companies upon graduation from the university. In addition, nearly 200 individuals actively use the Slatecube service to take free courses, acquire new knowledge, read new books, and serve virtual internships. Furthermore, everyone with valuable knowledge can share that knowledge on the platform as a course once they are approved. Courses can be paid for thus making it possible for individuals to make money off of the socially beneficial knowledge they share on the platform.

The Slatecube team would like to create more practice-driven and fun-filled courses that will positively shape the future of the African society in various aspects, ranging from culture, education, economy, personal development, innovation, creativity, and health.

Since becoming an Anzisha Fellow, Slatecube has garnered a lot of media attention, has been awarded many accolades, and has grown incrementally . Chris has been featured on CNN, BBC, ITnews Africa, MIT’s website,and CNBC Africa.Earlier this year, Nnamdi Azikiwe University awarded Slatecube for being the most innovative and most inspiring enterprise. Slatecube has also been recognized by the Toni Elumelu Foundation and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Presently, Slatecube has a traffic of about3000 visitors per month. He hopes to expand Slatecube in order to train about 1.2 million Africans, not just in Nigeria but across the African continent in the long run. And in line with his vision, Chris has organised a successful conference upskill conference in Lagos, Nigeria, and plans on hosting similar conferences in Nairobi, Kenya, and Gaborone, Botswana.

Chris would like to see, “…Slatecube linking more qualified and well-deserving students with top-notch organizations, thus upgrading the workforce, and making the pursuit of knowledge and skill a fun and worthwhile venture.”

Comments

 

[BDR]

Props

 

[Mentor B]

So this Slatecube is like a virtual class room to learn about different industries and intern/work at companies online?

 

[Mask]

So this Slatecube is like a virtual class room to learn about different industries and intern/work at companies online?

This what I got from the article

 

[Fright Night]

If they have the model then they can eventually squash him like a bug. The advantage is I dnt think Africa is a place of concern so he may have that lane.

The goal is to be aquired...buy the biz for millions then put him as a chairman.

Cant blame him for turning down a salary just to be let go once they dnt need him (if that was the offer).

 

[Black Radical]

If they have the model then they can eventually squash him like a bug. The advantage is I dnt think Africa is a place of concern so he may have that lane.

The goal is to be aquired...buy the biz for millions then put him as a chairman.

Cant blame him for turning down a salary just to be let go once they dnt need him (if that was the offer).

This is my concern and even if they are giving him the lane, so to speak, its temporary & tenuous.

My concern, would be what kind of a run does he have with an app idea that can easily (presumably) be replicated by the big boys?

Also what kind of job offer was it that he turned down? Sometimes the value of a job is a lot more than the compensation package. I'd imagine there is alot of things a young man could learn in Microsoft and I'd consider that as a black man he may be punished (as in blocked out or black listed) for rejecting a high profile offer. I hope he did the proper calculations and made the right move, because as we all know, things are different when ur black, and doubly so when u dont come from wealth. In any case, I wish the young brother success!

 

[Mask]

This is my concern and even if they are giving him the lane, so to speak, its temporary & tenuous.

My concern, would be what kind of a run does he have with an app idea that can easily (presumably) be replicated by the big boys?

Also what kind of job offer was it that he turned down? Sometimes the value of a job is a lot more than the compensation package. I'd imagine there is alot of things a young man could learn in Microsoft and I'd consider that as a black man he may be punished (as in blocked out or black listed) for rejecting a high profile offer. I hope he did the proper calculations and made the right move, because as we all know, things are different when ur black, and doubly so when u dont come from wealth. In any case, I wish the young brother success!

The concerns you're addressing are very serious. My short reply after reading your post would be simple, Bill Gates approached(from what we know) him, so apparently he's onto something.


This something I'm witnessing first hand(well second to be exact).