Jou ma se katoshe – phoning home
Mom: Siri, “ ndengela okaana kange”
Siri: ” I don’t understand what you’re saying”
Mom: ” ogg aaye”
Iphone created Siri, Kennedy Liswani (33) created a way in which you don’t have to spend an entire month teaching your mom how to understand her new smartphone.
Katoshe D30, an affordable smartphone that features five Namibian local languages plus English and Afrikaans.
On being business savvy, Kennedy says:
“one of many crucial lessons that I learned from Steve Jobs is to solve the people’s problem. Find the problem and find the solution.”
Kennedy is made of tenacity, “many of my other projects didn’t make it off the ground.”
“The road to success and failure is the same road. The difference is, those who make it don’t quit. Just be Persistent. Don’t be discouraged by others. Just keep on going and be focused,” he says.
With bravado and solid sense of self he says: “I’m an extremist, I can’t do things in moderation. So I’ve had to completely stop Partying and drinking alcohol. But I needed to learn to ask for help. I’m so used to doing everything myself. I’m a perfectionist that way. But I’ve come to realize I can learn a lot from asking for help.”
On his admirable traits he says, “My ability to inspire and believe in people is my best quality. To Encourage others. I love that about myself.”
Evident from his love for reading and learning,this young man seems to share the insatiable curiosity that all great entrepreneurs are made of. “ My mentors are all on my bookshelf,” he explains.
His top 5? “After much contemplation, in no particular order:
- Good to great by Jim C. Collins
- Jobs by Steve Jobs
- The art of war by Sun Tzu
- 48 laws of power by Robert Greene and, well we never did get to the fifth one (he couldn’t make up his mind). So the top four it is.
Phones are currently available for pre-order from their website www.elephonicmobile.com
~Sibongile “Sibo” Tshabalala