James Samba Wins Southern Region Social Good Summit Price, Becomes Youth Ambassador
Sierra Leonean innovator, James Samba won the Southern Region social good summit with a price of le10,000,000. The The social good summit is an annual youth event by the UNDP and it’s partners organised in order to look for local solutions to problems affecting Africans and youths that are positively and innovatively making a change in their respective communities.
James Samba applied for the impact challenge with the project of the invention and free distribution of Integrated Solar Backpacks to poor disadvantaged school pupils around Pujehun Districts. James won this year’s challenge and has been officially titled the Youth Ambassador of the South
At age 8, James Momodu Dao Samba started his creativity journey. James was a bright student in school who was so very much interested in technology and using any means through technology to be happy, James started building and repairing stuff for fun like, mini fans, motor-powered toy cars and many more; and since then, creativity has to be the thing he finds joy in doing.
 Meet James Momodu Dao Samba, One of Sierra Leone’s Fastest Fast Rising Tech-Prodigy.[/caption]
Now 19 years old, James is a student, self-taught Engineer and chief Innovation Officer, and founder of Wanjama Innovative-s. Born and raised in Pujehun Town, in the southern provinces of Sierra leone, James attended Holy Family Primary School in Pujehun and later moved to Christ the King College (CKC) Bo where he did his secondary education. James is currently studying International Relations at Milton Magai Technical University (MMTU) in his second year.
James is presently working on his revolutionary electric car that can operate without fuel/solar and needs not be recharged. It has a self-powered generating system that powers its operation. It is also incorporated with the functions of providing energy that could power an entire house without fuel, solar, or battery.
James is embarking on this project to ease the system of transportation and the issue of high costs of fuel. Many people in Freetown (mostly, none vehicle owners) constantly have their struggles in commercial transportation worse due to the everyday transport fare increment which is noticeably caused by the high cost of fuel in the nation; and many of these people are low-income earners.
James is trying to develop a cheaper transportation hub service system for the youths, that could operate without fuel and at cheaper transport fare operations.
Before this time, James innovative solution had include: FM radio transmitter, auto-intensity street light, non-fuel generator, remote control wheelchair, automated handwashing station, sanitizer dispenser, solar backpack, etc, have solved many problems in the community; ranging from light security, electricity, climate change, coronavirus prevention, to name but a few.
Like many innovators, James accounted numerous challenges trying to solve problems, speaking to Salone Messenger, he said
‘’The issue of funding has been the key challenge I’ve been facing lately. Getting materials to work with on a particular project is hard and many are to be purchased locally and sometimes ordered. 90% of all my innovative solutions are self-funded; I have to squeeze from my school allowance and sometimes even beg from friends and other relatives to assist me with some cash to buy the materials needed. ‘’Despite these challenges, James is hoping that his innovative ideas will make difference in the lives of people, he sees himself solving modern-day problems through his technology. This to James is his greatest achievement ‘’ My greatest achievement in the line of my work, innovation, has been, creating solutions to problems affecting people (or more precisely, me being a problem-solver). With extreme gratitude to the UNDP Accelerator Lab, I have been able to learn more on my pace of becoming a real-time problem-solver through their funded training program on Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Limkokwing University. He noted.
My message to young people aspiring to become innovators is, they are to follow their passion and love what they are doing; let them be original and become the best version of themselves.
You can get in touch with Josh on LinkedIn at James Samba or Facebook at James SambaÂ
The Social Good Summit 2021 winners as well as to all those who participated!
The four prize winners of the Youth Innovation Competition in Agriculture:
1. Male Star Prize Winner – Benjamin Bockarie
2. Male Runner-Up – Yao Aiahson Botton
3. Female Star Prize Winner – Aminata B. K. Suma
4. Female Runner-Up Susan B. Sesay
The two prize winners of the Youth Assistive Technologies for People with Disabilities Innovation Competition:
1. Star Prize Winner – Emmanuel Saati
2. Runner-Up – Emmanuel A. Mansaray
The five winners of the Youth Impact Competition:
1. Northern Region – Zion Zainab Kate Smith
2. North-Western Region – Adama Sesay
3. Western Area – Bilkissu Jalloh
4. Southern Region – James Samba
5. Eastern Region Alhaji – Yayah Swaray
Social Good Summit is a platform for creative young minds to showcase and articulate innovative ideas that can solve development challenges.
