Learning is a light that, once kindled, never goes out. The more we learn, the more we realise how little we know, and the more we find out, the more the brightly-burning flame ignites the spark of curiosity. Knowledge empowers, and all the more so in an age when information is as ubiquitous as the air that we breathe.
Weaving those bits and bytes of data into the fabric of a more enlightened tomorrow is the challenge that drives Rapelang Rabana, the restless young founder of ReKindle Learning. The name of her company, which provides education on the move via mobile phones, tablets, and the Web, is a statement of mission, a call to action, and a personal pledge from a serial entrepreneur who hasn’t stopped learning since she graduated from UCT with degrees in Business and Computer Science.
That mix of disciplines has served Rapelang well in her quest to make Africa a leading light of knowledge and know-how for the world. We caught up with Rapelang to ask her about change, technology, and what she has learned about learning in our new age of enlightenment.
Q: If you could change one thing about yourself for the better, what would that be, and why?
Develop more self-trust sooner. Too much time has been wasted in my life second-guessing, not being sure, and waiting for external validation.
Q: What do you love most about change?
The part after the change has set in and you wonder what took you so long in the first place.
Q: Where do you go when you feel like a change of scenery?
Lunch in the Winelands with a great view.
Q: What was the greatest fear you had to overcome when you set out to become an entrepreneur in the world of technology?
While there are lots of external elements of fear, the loudest are internal. The fear that going against the system is foolish and that you might be better off trusting the bigger trend and getting a job, instead of trusting yourself.
Q: What excites you most about mobile technology as a tool for learning?
There are more mobile devices on this continent than there are toothbrushes! The mobile phone is already and will continue to be the most pervasive device and tool to sweep across Africa. Mobile technology captures the imagination of the youth who most need to learn. If learning and building knowledge is ever going to be as accessible as we need it to be, then the mobile phone is the way.
Q: What piece of technology, whether hardware or app, has done most to change the way you live your life, and why?
Google Maps. With all my travelling, I can be at home wherever I am.
Q: What advice would you give to young women who dream of starting their own businesses?
Because of how entrepreneurship and the world of business is portrayed in our society, we are misled to believe that success is business rests in things like being good at numbers, or being an aggressive sales person and deal maker, or bossy enough to manage a lot of people. These are not the deciding factors.
What makes business hard, is not the business itself, but the personal journey you must undertake in order to be able to lead yourself and then others. And the capacity to do that has nothing to do with business. It stems from self-understanding of strengths and weakness, continuous self-reflection and assessment and self-regulation.
Self-understanding allows you tap into your drivers and motivations, so that you operate within the realm of your latent interests, values and passions or your natural rhythm. This is critical because it determines the depth and expertise you need to be a leader in that industry, and secondly it defines your capacity to preserve and outlast for the time it takes.
Q: What’s the single biggest lesson you’ve learned about life and change from your involvement in tech startups?
Time pushes everything forward. No stunning success and no sorrowful failure lasts forever. Absolutely everything comes to pass.
Q: What’s the greatest lesson you have learned from your involvement with the education sector?
There are several aspects of education and learning, so many processes that make up a successful learning journey.
In improving the state of education and skills, there is no silver-bullet solution that solves everything.
It is about isolating specific areas or processes, solving those and knowing that doing that one part more effectively, frees resources to deal with other parts that need more. And as we solve little parts we can begin to see a cumulative impact.
Q: What do you think we need to do to improve the quality of education in South Africa, particularly when it comes to science and mathematics?
There are several things, from the training and quality of teachers, school infrastructure and class sizes to basic food schemes so learners don’t learn hungry.
The area I’m exploring which could have a significant impact on learner achievement in science and mathematics is providing learning applications on mobile phones, tablets or computers, that enable learners to rapidly reinforce what was presented at school so they can better build and retain core mastery of school content.
I believe that by providing learners with the means to easily and rapidly assess their levels of understanding, as well as corrective feedback timely that is personalised, we can significantly improve the rate of learning and knowledge retention.
Digital tools are ideal to provide personalised learning experiences where learners can learn at their own pace until they reach the required levels of competence. The shocking Grade 9 results last year, with an average of 10.8%, show that learners are failing on the basic understanding and retention of rules, facts and simple processes – aspects of learning that I believe are easily addressed on digital platforms.
Q: Who is the innovator you admire the most, and why?
Elon Musk. His level of innovation completely disrupts and transforms industries on a structural level. And he does it in multiple industries at the same time.
Q: What was the single biggest and scariest change you have ever made in your life?
Starting my first business right after university and choosing against the default path. First time in my life I felt like I finally made a decision.
Q: What is your dream for technology as a force for change in Africa?
I believe that mobile technology will prove to be the most effective and scalable tool for delivering, facilitating or improving access to new services, new products, and critical social services across most sectors. Financial services, business services, education, health, retail, agriculture and government services.
Q: What inspires you most about living in Africa in the 21st Century?
We have a growing techno-literate mobile generation unlike any that has come before. A new generation that I believe will try out new ideas and express that in mobile technology in the most creative, problem-solving and locally relevant ways.
It is a clear departure from old times where a small privileged minority, who had access to information, tools and traditional networks of influence were the only ones who could bring about change. This model of operation that assumes that a small proportion of good-intentioned and educated people can cater adequately for a passive majority is unsustainable.
The world needs a model that recognises that sustainable progress and optimum results can only be obtained when everyone is in a position to play their part and be active contributors of their world. I am inspired because mobile and internet technology presents us with an extraordinary opportunity to engage a much wider group of Africans and quicken the pace of Africa’s development. Mobile technology can enable Africa to see tremendous growth and disproportionate gains for our efforts.
*Picture sourced from http://mybroadband.co.za/
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