By Nanji Nandang
Plateau State, Nigeria—To many, broken chargers, phone batteries, and other such electronic waste can seem like trash. Yet for 33-year-old Zang Luka, based in Jos, Plateau’s capital, they are an untapped goldmine.
“I dismantled a lot of my parent’s gadgets growing up because of curiosity,” says Luka, whose penchant for technology has transformed what others considered waste into sustainable products. “I always want to know the principle behind the function of every gadget.”
Breaking the Odds
After he couldn’t meet the benchmark score for science in secondary school, Luka switched to the social sciences. During this period, Luka says, he read the stories of several tech entrepreneurs who dropped out of school and rose to success without any formal education.
“I read about Michael Dell who dropped out of the university after two semesters to focus on his computing business.”
He later deferred his university education to forge his own path “through my own research,” he notes.
Attempting a Dream Recorder
For someone who struggled to recollect his dreams, Luka attempted to create a dream recorder as his first major project.
Thus the aspiring tech innovator spent much of 2017 attempting to create a device that could capture and recall his dreams. But the technology to achieve this, he realised, was out of his reach. So he turned to discarded electronics, where he came upon a treasure trove of valuable material that would become the foundation of his success.
Luka’s ambitious quest to build a dream recorder did not pan out, however. But his enthusiasm endured. In 2018, frustrated by Nigeria’s erratic electricity, he developed a 45000mAh pocket power cell with a 5V/1A power input and output. The Zang Power Bank, as it called, was borne out of repeated trials, Luka says.
“I made three products that didn’t work, and while the fourth one worked, it didn’t increase the battery percentage. But the fifth product brought us to where we are today.”
In recent years, Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has emerged as a leading hub for technology startups, driving innovation within the country and drawing investment from foreign venture capitalists.
Experts reckon that the groundswell of these tech companies signals a significant shift in Nigeria’s economic landscape with ripple effects on the continent.
Leveraging this latent digital potential, the Nigerian government, in 2023, launched the 3 Million technical Talent, or 3MTT, Programme and the Broadband Alliance to “create three million technical talents by 2027,” thereby fostering a digital economy that would boost the nation’s gross domestic product, or GDP.
“The 3MTT programme is the largest known talent accelerator in the world and is strategically designed to cultivate a robust pipeline of technical skills across Nigeria and position the country as a net-exporter of tech talent,” said Bosun Tijani, who oversees the country’s Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy.
For all the promise of Nigeria’s digital landscape, funding remains limited for startups like Luka’s
“We often rely on investors, venture capitalists, and government grants,” Luka admits, adding that he also meets with industry experts to secure capital and gain more visibility.
Triumphs Amidst Trials
The Zang Power Bank met with widespread acclaim, with more than 10,000 units sold across Nigeria. Before long, Luke’s ingenuity caught the attention of the Nigerian government. In 2019, he received the National MSME Award of Excellence in Technology Innovation, an outstanding coup for the young inventor. “I’m thrilled to see people using my products to solve the problems they were designed to address,” he muses.
Across social media, users’ testimonials inspired him to consider making battery packs for computers as well as solar lamps. “We’re currently test-running five computer power banks to identify areas for improvement,” he notes.
Despite his latest coup, the tech entrepreneur continues to nurture his aspiration of producing a dream recorder, which he halted because of “limited infrastructure.”
“The inconsistent power supply and unreliable internet connectivity pushed me to create a power bank to overcome these challenges, just so I could work on building my dream recorder,” he says with a laugh.
These days, Luka continues to receive orders for power banks on social media. This has prompted him to build an e-commerce platform to handle orders more efficiently and provide delivery services to buyers. Looking back, he marvels at how he built a fast-growing brand simply from electronic junk, noting, “Your waste is someone’s raw material.”
Zang Luka, a tech innovator from Jos, Nigeria, transforms electronic waste into sustainable technology. Despite initially failing to score well in science and subsequently switching to social sciences, Luka's curiosity drove him to explore and invent. His quest began with an attempt to create a dream recorder but shifted focus due to technological limitations. In 2018, he developed the Zang Power Bank to tackle Nigeria's inconsistent power supply, a product that saw great success with over 10,000 units sold and won him the National MSME Award for Excellence in Technology Innovation in 2019.
With Nigeria becoming a tech hub, Luka aims to expand his innovations, currently exploring computer power banks and solar lamps. Despite financial constraints, he relies on investors and government grants. His journey underscores the potential within discarded materials and Nigeria's growing digital economy. Luka plans to launch an e-commerce platform and continues to aspire to develop the dream recorder, emphasizing the belief that "your waste is someone’s raw material."
