Some people are naturally talented and others become cerebral through hard work. And some have the best of both worlds, and are as hard working as they are naturally talented. Na’ol Daba is one of those naturally gifted people, and a hard-worker to boot. He recently was heaped with praise and recognition from the Prime Minister.
He was born and raised in Ambo before he went to Andinet International School to continue his elementary and secondary education in Addis Ababa. While studying there, he won a scholarship opportunity when he was in grade 10 for his outrageous innovative ability in a science competition and went to the US to join a boarding school.
After joining the boarding school, he got the opportunity to participate in various voluntary activities one of such was assisting students who engage in technological (robotic) and agricultural activities. Within a year and a half, he devoted more than 1,000 hours for voluntarism which put him in number one during his stay in the school.
Currently, he is 22 years old and he is a holder of BA degree in theoretical physics and MA in Economics. “After I completed my MA education in Chicago, I returned to Ethiopia leaving behind lots of golden opportunities, with a mission to serve my country with what I have learned, and collaborate with other young Ethiopians who share my enthusiasm and interest.”
Back home, he started on different projects to achieve the mission he set out before returning. One, in particular, is a tube satellite he planned to build with the help of the government. He then asked the Ministry of Innovation and Technology for support to get a project fund which would then enable him to create this satellite.
He has now completed the design of the satellite which he planned to work and present to the Ministry along with its project proposal. The satellite would have the capability to show thermal space, humidity, temperature, air pressure, and soil information.
However, although he presented the project proposal to the ministry, the response has not been as much as he wanted. Undaunted by this, Na’ol started communicating with other local and foreign institutions who share the same ambition like him.
And all this has led to him setting up a company called NJET with the motto of solving the problems of Ethiopia by Ethiopians, in collaboration with various institutions and individuals. Apart from strengthening creative works, through organizing talented youths, the company also aims to provide training on entrepreneurship as well as supply the necessary inputs for their creative works.
Another project the company is working on, as part of its mantra ‘solving the problems of Ethiopia by Ethiopians’, is an agricultural drone called RPA, which can provide multi-lateral services like distributing pesticides, mapping in rural and urban areas.
“The drone helps distribute pesticides with increased efficiency and effectiveness, as it can distribute pesticides in more than one hectare of land within six minutes.”
As the government has been supporting agricultural technologies through tax exemption of inputs, the company has been working on the drone, and it will go operational next month. Concerning the drone, he called on the government to provide the necessary support and policy that would help oversee as well as control activities related to the agricultural drone.
In addition, to enhance innovation, the company has been working in collaborating with different local technological institutions like Paris Finfinne Rohobot and others.
With regards to the support of the government, Na’ol said that there is an improvement. Mentioning that the reformist leader Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, both as individual and leader of the country, have encouraged them in many ways, he pointed out that his act signals the Premier’s commitment to the technology sector.
Indeed, the Prime Minister has made his intention of promoting the culture of innovation in science and technology in Ethiopia clear with him being present in National Science, Technology and Innovation Award and Recognition event, where he called upon Ethiopians to harness the potential of innovation in science and technology to drive the country’s overall development ambitions. And young and talented youth like Na’ol, with an industrious entrepreneurial attitude, can help drive the economic and social development of Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Herald January 22/2020
BY TAMERU REGASA
