A teenager from Abraham Iyambo Senior Secondary School in Namibia, Simon Petrus invented a mobile phone that works with radio frequencies, without sim card or airtime recharge is required. Calls can be made without interruptions to anywhere and anyone as long as they are done in an area with radio frequency.

Petrus used scraps of old television and mobile phones to put together the invention, which took him two years to complete. It also required funding of over $2000 from his unemployed parents and sacrificed a lot to ensure the success of the project. 

Petrus’ invention is not just a sim-less mobile phone, it is a whole unit consisting of a working radio, television, a light bulb, a fan, and a socket. Although not Petrus’ first invention but his latest, he has also created a machine that doubles as a seed and a cooler which won him a first place at a competition for young innovators in Namibia.

One of the teachers from Petrus’ school described him to be an average student “in general” but an A+ student in sciences who aspires to become an electronics engineer after school. The young inventor came up with his own project and the only assistance he had was from his teachers in school.

Asides Petrus’ invention, it is safe to say that Namibia can boast of a good number of young innovators and a variety of revolutionary projects. A Namibian student also developed the country’s own social network site  – Namhook, and also  a young inventor Josua Nghaamwa built a satellite booster to boost internet connectivity in rural areas with weak signals.

Also from Abraham Iyambo Senior Secondary School, Adreheid Hamutumwa made a bath soap with local plant roots and animal fat.