By the middle of this century, Africa will be home to a billion children and adolescents under the age of 18, almost 40% of all children and adolescents worldwide. Yet, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of educational exclusion in the world with over one-fifth of children between the ages of 6 and 11 and one-third between the ages of 12 and 14 out of school according to the World Bank.
Accelerating investment in education is vital for African countries to make full benefit of their human capital. This Deal Share Live will showcase enterprises making an impact in education using Tech. We will also spotlight AVPA member, Itumeleng Dlamini, Head of Programmes of South African Breweries Foundation (SAB) highlighting the incredible investments they have made in entrepreneurs and social innovations across South Africa.
About the Enterprises
WeThinkCode_ is a software development training academy that uses its own proprietary curriculum and learning management system (LMS) to service industries in shortage of tech skills by training disenfranchised youth in South Africa on full stack development fundamentals.
The enterprise has grown its annual turnover from $1.3 million with an 11% profit margin in the financial year ended February 2019, to $2.2 million with a 20% profit margin in 2023. Its annual headcount has grown from 100 students in one campus in Johannesburg to 540 students, with 52% women representation across three private campuses in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban and two public campuses hosted by TVET colleges in Gauteng.
South Africa ranked last out of 50 countries in the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS) study which tested reading comprehension of learners in their fourth year of primary schooling. A survey found that six out of ten South Africans older than 16 years lived in households without a single book present with low potential South African readers (do not read at all and have no interest in reading) making up 73% of the population
The Kelo Digital Library and Virtual Bookshop is a one-stop shop for all things books. Accessible through Android, IOS and web, TheSmartRead is an all-inclusive platform comprising a virtual library, bookshop, e-reader, e-shelf, e-wallet, virtual book clubs and study groups enabling richer data analytics on market spending, usage and behavioural data but also enabling a community of students, authors and lecturers to engage better and share additional resources. Students are able to rent books for 6 – 12 months and pay 33% of the retail price while through the library function are able to check out books for 14 – 90 days.
In South Africa, less than 50% of children entering Grade 1 complete high school. This figure drops well below 50% in the rest of the continent. Globally, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of education exclusion.
Head Start, strives to bridge the gap between developing countries and the world’s leading edtech companies with exclusive licenses to over 10 of the leading educational apps worldwide. Their catalogue has over 30,000 activities, games, videos, and educational resources. They have created our own "Netflix for Education" platform, DigiClass which empowers learners aged 1-18. Head Start’s content has been researched, has a proven track record and the price point is suitable for even those that are struggling financially.
