Meet Frank Darko The Ghanaian Student Who Built The First Ever Floating Bicycle In Africa

Frank Darko is a student of Graphic Design at the Tarkoradi Technical University. He has designed a water cycle to help Ghanaian children living in villages throughout the Volta region reach schools.

Frank Darko, was moved to action in 2017, after seeing a documentary and news reports about the children’s plight, reports Raluca Besliu in YaleGlobal.

He invented a water bicycle to help children and others living in river regions to cross bodies of water.

Frank said the following words…….

“There are no canoes to carry them,” Darko notes. “But even if there is a canoe, it is very risky as it can capsize at any time putting the life of the children in danger. The water cycle is designed to be stable on the water.”

He calls his invention ‘Chario’, a name inspired by the word chariot , a carriage driven primarily through horsepower, and claims that his chariot is safer than a canoe.

It took him more than one year to come up with the concept and design the water cycle.

Darko has used aluminum, wood and a propeller as well as cork which keeps the Chario afloat. With no financial support from either investors or the government, he invested around $100 out of his pocket to develop the cycle.

The Chario is easy to operate, and Darko says there is no need to know how to ride a bike.

Other people, including a popular radio anchor, tested the water cycle at sea, although children in the Volta region have yet to try it out.

The current version accommodates one person. So Mr Darko is planning to produce bicycle, that can carry 3 to 4 persons.