An avid web and mobile developer, Zubair Abubakar ’08 started application development while still a student at Ashesi, where he studied Computer Science. While on campus, Zubair developed the first election portal for the University’s Student Government, and also developed a patient management system for the campus clinic.
Since graduating from Ashesi in 2008, Zubair has designed and launched many applications, including the Ramadan and Freedom of Information apps, as well as one of Nigeria’s most popular information portals, connectnigeria.com. In Nigeria however, Zubair is more known for his simple and wildly popular application: the Nigerian Constitution app for mobile.
“I came across a print copy of Nigeria’s constitution at a time when I was learning to develop applications for Blackberry phones,” Zubair explains. “I asked myself what it would be like if the Nigerian constitution could be easily accessed via mobile. The thought of the possibilities and the impact such a move could have in and out of Nigeria was what fueled my drive to create the app.”
With some one million downloads for his constitution application, Zubair, a social entrepreneur, TEDGlobal and Institute for Venture Design Fellow, is now responsible for creating one of Nigeria’s most successful mobile apps. “I have always been interested in simple, high impact solutions,” says Zubair. “It was my hope that the Constitution App would bring law awareness to the many people of Nigeria. I am glad that the acceptance has been so great.”
The concept behind the application is simple but very effective: it lets users consult the latest version of the constitution, while a forum section gives the opportunity to share experiences, opinions, and advice. One of the biggest advantages of the application is that users can access all the documentation offline, which is important in a country like Nigeria where mobile penetration is very high but Internet connectivity is still limited in many areas.
Initially launched on Blackberry mobile phones, Zubair has expanded the app’s access to Nokia and Android phone users with support from Indigo Trust and Co-Creation Hub Nigeria. “The grant from Indigo Trust is one of the best things to happen to the Constitution App. Now the app can be opened up to more mobile platforms, and we can create more functions to make the application more useful.”
After the success of the Nigerian Constitution App, Zubair and his business partner Bayo Puddicombe have launched ChopUp, a gaming platform looking to bring more African content online. Since its launch in 2013, the platform has grown to over hundred thousand subscribers. “This platform will not only let people play hundreds of new games; it will also provide game developers across Africa with the opportunity to monetize their applications,” said Zubair.