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“My vision is to see an Africa that is free from poverty. This can only be achieved if we, as business people, take the front role in empowering our people.”
Name: Farai Munjoma
Talent: Social Entrepreneur
Country: Zimbabwe
Age: 19
Notable Achievements: Founded e-learning platform ‘Shasha Iseminar’; Awarded ‘The Anzisha Prize’, Africa’s premier award for its youngest entrepreneurs
Shasha Iseminar is a new e-learning platform which offers A-level students a free, online library of course and study notes, past exams, as well as career guidance.
Challenge
In 2008, Zimbabwe experienced one of the world’s most extreme cases of hyperinflation that saw food prices double on a daily basis. This culminated in the country’s ‘brain-drain’ which saw talented professionals, including teachers, seek new pastures for a better return for their skills.
Opportunity
Farai’s inspiration came while at boarding school in Nyanga, in eastern Zimbabwe. He had an excellent history teacher who had been working at the school for 30 years but Farai worried about him retiring.
“I wondered how, after he left, we could access the information he taught us, and also the way he taught it,” he explained.“I thought if we can’t have teachers because they are running away from this country, then why not use the internet to replace them?”
At age 17, and with the help of a co-founder, Farai started compiling A-level course content, study notes and test questions – putting it online. All content was first approved by teachers and course examiners.
Philanthropy
Farai decided to make it a free service to reduce the barrier to information that the high cost of good textbooks had created for many underprivileged students.
Shasha Iseminar draws its revenue from selling advertising space to companies and a portion of these profits have gone towards paying the school fees of underprivileged students.
Farai Munjoma is definitely a young man to watch out for. An early achiever who knows exactly what he wants to achieve. We’ll be following his journey. You can follow him too on social media:
Integr8.Africa 