MBANGISO MABASO: ON HOW HE BRINGS SCIENCE TO KIDS ON A PHONE

A forward-thinking young entrepreneur from Botshabelo has invented an app that creates a virtual science laboratory, allowing schoolkids to learn through playing with technology.

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Technology entrepreneur Mbangiso Mabaso is impressive proof that challenges can lead to some of the most creative solutions. The founder of a company called Sisanda Tech, Mabaso was born in Botshabelo in the Free State, where he attended a township school that didn’t have a science laboratory. This meant he and his classmates were unable to make the most of their science lessons – after all, with science it’s all about being able to see it to believe it. The lack of a lab meant they missed out on hands-on experiments and activities that bring science to life for learners.

A SCIENCE-SHAPED HOLE
Years later, while studying electrical engineering at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein, Mabaso felt the impact of his lack of scientific knowledge. Realising that this is still a reality for millions of children, he resolved to do something about it.

After completing his studies, he worked as an electrical engineer and his entrepreneurial spirit led him to try out various ventures. He sold solar lights and fast food, and developed a cooler bag that harnessed solar power to charge mobile phones! Along the way, he also learnt how to make his own apps and won various awards for his technological innovations.

Among his first inventions was a game called Energy Efficiency Diva (EED), that helped kids understand how to save energy. EED won him third place and 100,000,00 in prize money at the SAB Kickstart Ignite competition in 2015.

He eventually left his full-time job and founded Sisanda Tech in 2017. With investment secured from a friend, Mabaso built his first game on a borrowed laptop, and SI Realities was born – an app that creates a virtual science laboratory that children can use on a mobile phone or tablet. SI Realities produces cubes loaded with information that allow children to learn through playing with technology.

When pointing a camera (on a mobile phone or tablet) at an SI Realities cube, scientific information comes to life in three-dimensional form on the screen of the device being used.

The human heart, sea animals, planets like Mars and many other mysteries can be explored in this way. The app has gained Mabaso widespread media coverage.

“...my failures are my achievements because I get to learn from those experiments. My philosophy in life relies on self-education.”

Image above: Mbangiso shows a school learner how to use SI Realities, which places science education in the hands of millions of children who don’t have access to science laboratories.

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH EDUCATION
‘Sisanda Tech is a learning company that uses technology to enhance learning,’ says Mabaso, who recently took part in the Red Bull Amaphiko Academy programme that helped him harness his entrepreneurial energies. In an interview with the website Bizcommunity, he talked about how his biggest goal was to make a difference in children’s lives through education. ‘I’m a Product Of Public School (POPS),’ he said, ‘and as a science learner from a public school you could only imagine science, but never get the chance to experiment with it.

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EXPLORE, EXPERIMENT AND PLAY
‘My three nephews are attending the same schools that I used to attend, and I would be dumb if I didn’t dedicate my time to work on a virtual science lab that could benefit the 12 million learners in public schools, the 400,000 in private schools and the 100,000 who are homeschooled. I just want to see them have an opportunity to explore their curiosity, experiment anywhere and anytime, and play while learning.’

In an interview published on the Sowetan website, Mabaso said running various businesses has been an education: ‘When you get into entrepreneurship, it’s like entering a university where you’re going to write tests and fail. I have lost a lot of money in the process, but my failures are my achievements because I get to learn from those experiments. My philosophy in life relies on self-education. I believe when you match the information you get from school with self-education, it will turn into something. To me, there is no choice but to be an innovator and entrepreneur. I like the idea of creating ideas out of nothing and to hustle to sell them.’

SI Realities has been used in a number of schools, and it seems there will be many more interesting inventions from Mabaso. Watch this space.

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