Alain Capo, an Ivorian tech innovator and smartphone creator, has been awarded the 2023 World Literacy Award. According to the prize’s website, the award recognizes individuals and organisations annually for their outstanding endeavours that promote literacy learning.
Alain Capo created a smartphone that allows individuals to communicate in at least 16 of the Ivory Coast’s languages. He told Reuters last year that he designed the phone so that individuals who cannot read or write could use smartphones.
Mr Capo expressed his gratitude during the ceremony at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, saying, “It’s an amazing honour to receive this award and the global acknowledgment of the work in literacy as we increase access to education and literacy for all.”
He also discussed that the inequalities in education motivates him, saying “I’ve seen, first-hand, the inequalities of education worldwide, and it inspired me to step up and make a difference.”
He is the President and Founder of Groupe CERCO. He founded the company in 1998, according to information on his LinkedIn page. He was only 20 years old at the moment. Groupe CERCO has grown and expanded its services across the continent over the last 24 years, and it is now accessible in Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali, France, and China. He is also the President of the CAMES International Network of Private Higher Education Institutions. (RIDEPES-CAMES).
Alain Capo is a scholar as well as an entrepreneur. He received his PhD in Information and Communication Sciences from the University of Paris 8 in France in 2012.