Cape Town – Large numbers of South African learners are having a hard time with maths.
But life will be easier thanks to young Western Cape-based entrepreneur, Thobeka Nkabinde, who is on a quest to change that one equation at a time, with her WhatsApp-based eRank Play app.
The eRank Play app is built around everyday actions like working out what change is due from a taxi driver when collecting fares or how to use maths to slot a car into a small parking spot, and can be played anywhere, anytime.
Nkabinde, former administrative assistant and a student at UWC, says: “Besides the fact that many young South Africans perform poorly at maths, there are also many whose parents can't afford tutors to help develop their kids’ understanding.
“I knew there had to be a better way to help people by making learning fun and affordable, and so we thought that an app easily accessed from a phone would be the way to go.
“Our players are mainly Grade 8 and 9s, but we are working on expanding our content and making it attractive to older high school learners,” she said.
MTN’s senior manager of education and community programmes, Angie Maloka, says that Thobeka’s story adds strength to the theory that entrepreneurs are inspired to solve problems they have experienced.
Nkabinde’s app was a finalist at the MTN Women in Digital Business Challenge.
She was awarded R100,000 which she will be using to raise the app’s profile by developing a digital marketing campaign and attract more users to the site.
The app, which already has about 1000 users, will also look at initiatives to offer free access for a period and a premium subscription service for an upgraded version of the app.
Nkabinde is committed to reducing maths to its most basic elements, and the app aims to make learning maths fun, encouraging young people to explore maths and break through the barriers that have made it a subject that is often disliked.
She also hopes that the eRank Play becomes a game that encourages thousands of young people to consider a career in science, technology or engineering and mathematics, skills which are desperately needed in South Africa.
“Nkabinde turned the Covid pandemic into an opportunity. Worried about the possibility of losing her job, she began working on the eRank Play app as a way of being independent, so as to not leave her welfare and future in the hands of others,” Maloka said.
Maloka also said that the MTN Women in Digital Business Challenge forms part of the cellular network’s commitment to developing ICT SMEs on the continent and it encourages an entrepreneurial mindset by providing an annual R1m to 10 SMME candidates, like Nkabinde, for working capital needs, business development, tangible assets, mentorship and advancing technology/software.
“Our 10 2022 finalists, and recipients of R100 000 each, are examples of what can be achieved by women in a competitive industry. We look forward to hearing more about them as they help change the operating face of the business in South Africa,” Maloka said.
IOL