Osine and Anesi Ikhianosime
“My name is Osine Ikhianosime and I am 13 years old. I am the co-developer of Crocodile Browser Lite. I write the code. My brother designs it,” Osine told TechCabal in his pitch mail.
Osine Ikhianosime is like any other any other boy his age and at the same time he isn’t. He loves playing soccer and is fascinated with learning new things, but not every 13 year old takes coding as a hobby – Osine does.
Born April 28, 2001, his interest in computers began at age 7. It was also at this age that he, along with his brother, Anesi Ikhianosime, who was 9 at the time (born June 1, 1999), came up with the idea of starting a company. First named Doors, with Microsoft’s “Windows” as inspiration, it had to be changed to BluDoors, when they discovered that the first name was already taken.
When they decided to learn to code at age 12 and 14 respectively, Osine said, “I didn’t let my uncle’s belief that it would be a tough feat to achieve stop me.” “I started with Java,” Osine said excitedly during our ensuing phone conversation.
“I learnt to code by myself. I started in 2013, I used sites like Code Academy, Code Avengers and books like ‘Android for Game Development’ and ‘Games for Dummies’,” said Anesi.
While both brothers write code, Anesi designs the user interface.
User interface of the Crocodile Browser
They both began developing an Android web browser, which they named Crocodile Browser Lite, about a year ago out of boredom. Due to their strong interest in technology, they decided to create a functional, fast browser for feature and low end phones because, according to them, “We were fed up with Google Chrome.”
Osine and Anesi launched the mobile browser on the Mobango app store before moving to Google Play Store to try and reach a wider audience. Their browser has around 100 to 500 downloads currently and they do not have ads in the app yet.
The brothers are Year 9 and Year 11 students of Greensprings School, Anthony Campus, Lagos.
According to their mum, Mrs Ngozi Ikhianosime, who is a Math teacher, “Oseni could already use a PC before could read, at age 3.” She says it’s all he does since he learnt to code. She also says that his school was also essential in his learning to code at such a young age, as the students have access to computer and internet facilities. At home, they each have their personal laptops.
She says of Anesi, who is in his final year of secondary school, “After Anesi is through with his secondary school education, will attend A levels, after which he will go to MIT in Boston for his first degree, because the university has the facilities he needs to learn well.”
Their father Mr Philip Ikhianosime, who is the Head of Management Services and Human Resource Manager at an Insurance Company says the boys developed interest in PC usage very early. He agrees as well that his children’s school were very instrumental in their continued interest in programming.
Anesi says that he’d like to develop another app that solves real social problems, such as traffic and communication.
The brothers are releasing a new version of Crocodile Browser Lite 3.0 this April.
