According to Opare, his new search engine, Mudclo, will challenge the dominance of YouTube.

Opare, a level 300 sociology student of the University of Ghana, taught himself how to code by taking online courses during his free time.

Mudclo is a free search engine for videos. Mudclo discovers and streams videos from the different locations on the internet all in one place.

“I believe that my business is good enough and that it can scale globally. It is a legitimate point to say that YouTube is a video hosting website, but they are two different entities.

“While YouTube is a video hosting website, Mudclo combines the power of YouTube and two other video hosting websites in order to create Mudclo,” he said.

Mudclo’s users most popular searches include adverts, music videos and amateur content.

According to Opare, his initial inspiration came from other Ghanaians, restless and eager to build businesses at a young age on a continent where opportunities are limited and unemployment is rife.

Mudclo has already caught the attention of some of the world’s big tech companies, including more established video hosting sites although there is some work to be done on Mudclo to fix bugs, boost the features and visual experiences it offers users.

“With all entrepreneurs, they feel that there is a rewarding or gratifying feeling that comes with creating a product or a service that will actually matter to the world,” the teenager added.

Experts say information and communication technology could help Africa overcome infrastructure inadequacies, satisfy rising consumer demand, boost regional trade and diversify economies, ending reliance on raw materials.