The founder of a website which helps Nigerians find private tutors has won a £25,000 ($32,000) prize from the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering.
Godwin Benson, who founded Tuteria, told the BBC that he got the idea when he was a maths tutor.
“We agreed a price of 6000 naira ($19; £14) for a month and then the student’s father didn’t pay me,” he said.
On top of this he discovered that the client had been searching for a tutor for two months even though he only lived ten minutes away.
While it was a painful lesson, Mr Benson, now a systems engineer, spotted a gap in the market and launched Tuteria in 2015.
Customers can search for tutors in their area on their phone and students pay upfront online to make sure the teachers are never out of pocket.
Chair of the Royal Academy judges panel, Malcolm Brinded, said Tuteria had changed the way Nigerians share knowledge and skills.
“His engineering innovation is not only new technology, but also a new way of thinking about education,” he added.
Previous inventions which have won the award include a water filter using sand and a tablet computer which monitors hearts.
Source – BBC
