Nigerian Coding superstar, Tomisin Ogunnubi came to the spotlighted and attracted many tech companies after creating My Locator, a genius app that helps lost children find their way back home. Records have it that since creating the app in 2016, it has been downloaded over 1000 times.
In a more recent feat, Tomisin defeated 49,900 other tech prodigies from 170 countries to emerge one of the 100 Global Winners in the $1bn Rise Initiative. In view of this development, she will get lifetime benefits including a scholarship, mentorship, career development opportunities and funding.
It is important to note that Tomisin’s My Locator uses Google Maps to track users as they move from one location to the next. Users can add numbers that will receive their location in the event of an emergency.
Harping on its usage, Tomisin said My Locator “Has a functionality where you click on an alert button. It sends a text message and makes a phone call, that’s if you’ve enabled it in your settings, to a particular number that you’ve designated to it.”
“It could be an emergency number or it could be a family member’s number. It’s your choice. So in case of an emergency, when you need an urgent response, it sends your current address to that number so somebody can easily locate where you are.”
It was stated that the teen learned how to code when she was 12 and wanted to create something useful. Tomisin’s skills have inspired those around her and effected a curriculum change in her secondary school.
Tomisin is passionate about technology as well as diversity and inclusivity within the field. She has cultivated skills in web and mobile development and worked with several languages and frameworks such as Javascript, Java and Python. She has also explored the fields of machine learning, design and animation.
In her words, she aims to foster gender and ethnic diversity in computer science and endeavours to engage on the topic through personal interactions and media opportunities.
