Millions of Americans&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deal with mental illness</a>&nbsp;each year, and&nbsp;<a href="https://mhanational.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/2019%20MH%20in%20America%20Final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more than half of them</a>&nbsp;go untreated. As the mental health industry has grown in recent years, so has the number of tech startups offering virtual therapy, which range from online and app-based chatbots to video therapy sessions and messaging.&nbsp;



Still a nascent industry, with most startups in the early&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/reports/CB-Insights_Mental-Health-Briefing.pdf?utm_campaign=Webinars&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9vLgEn6AfsUf_nXfn8UtBBrkhgfEFm7LsQrRFoI68CJsrXrU-zXKTi8M0sgpMW0unONnbLsAVUe6BO0cr2Vj1A0ZPhQiu4178Y2bOAidtpFApBFyw&amp;_hsmi=55818280&amp;utm_content=55818280&amp;utm_source=hs_automation&amp;hsCtaTracking=8133605e-ef8d-41b5-add2-a79fc7aa7322%7Cf61454a1-0ed7-46eb-87c7-40f56ce494c0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seed-stage funding round</a>, these companies say they aim to increase access to qualified mental health care providers and reduce the social stigma that comes with seeking help.&nbsp;



While the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5897664/#__sec1title" target="_blank">efficacy of virtual therapy,</a> compared with traditional in-person therapy, is still being <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.thecut.com/2016/12/the-potential-danger-in-therapy-apps-like-talkspace.html" target="_blank">hotly debated</a>, its popularity is undeniable. Its most recognizable pioneers, BetterHelp and TalkSpace, have enrolled nearly 700,000 and more than 1 million users respectively. And investors are taking notice.



Funding for mental health tech startups has boomed in the past few years, jumping from roughly $100 million in 2014 to more than $500 million in 2018, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/a-look-at-the-boom-in-vc-funding-for-mental-health-startups" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pitchbook</a>. In May of this year, the subscription-based online therapy platform Talkspace raised an additional $50 million, bringing its total funding to just under $110 million since its 2012 inception.



The ubiquity of smartphones, coupled with the lessening of the stigma associated with mental health treatment have played a large role in the growing demand for virtual therapy. Of the various services offered on the Talkspace platform, “clients by far want asynchronous text messaging,” says Neil Leibowitz, the company’s chief medical officer.



Users seem to prefer back-and-forth messaging that isn’t restricted to a narrow window of time over face-to-face interactions. At BetterHelp, founder Alon Matas notes that older users are more likely to go for phone and video therapy sessions, whereas younger users favor text messaging.



“Each generation is getting progressively more mobile-native,” says John Prendergass, an associate director at Ben Franklin Technology Partners’ healthcare investment group, “so I think we’re going to see people become increasingly more accustomed, or predisposed, to a higher level of comfort in seeking care online.”



The ease and convenience of virtual therapy is another draw, particularly for busy people or those who live in rural areas with limited access to therapy and a range of care options.



Alison Darcy, founder and CEO of Woebot, a free automated chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to provide therapeutic services without the direct involvement of humans, says that with Woebot and other similar services, there is no need to schedule appointments weeks in advance and users can receive real-time coaching at the moment they need it, unlike traditional therapy. The sense of anonymity online can also lead to more openness and transparency and attracts people who normally wouldn’t seek therapy.



Along with stigma, the cost of therapy has historically acted as a barrier to accessing quality mental-health care. Health insurance is often unlikely to cover therapy sessions. In most cities, sessions run about $75 to $150 each, and can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.northwesternmutual.com/life-and-money/how-much-does-therapy-cost-and-how-do-you-pay-for-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">go as high as $200</a>&nbsp;or more in places like New York City. Web therapists don’t have to bear the expense of brick-and-mortar offices, filing paperwork or marketing their services, and these savings can be passed on to clients.&nbsp;



BetterHelp offers a $200-a-month membership that includes weekly live sessions with a therapist and unlimited messaging in between, while Talkspace’s cheapest monthly subscription at $260-a-month, offers unlimited text, video and audio messaging.



But virtual therapy, particularly text-based therapy, is not suitable for everyone. Nor is it likely to make traditional therapy obsolete.&nbsp;“Online therapy isn’t good for people who have severe mental and relational health issues, or any kind of psychosis, deep depression or violence,” says Christiana Awosan, a licensed marriage and family therapist.&nbsp;



At her New York and New Jersey offices, she works predominantly with black clients, a population that she says prefers face-to-face meetings. “This community is wary of mental health in general because of structural discrimination,” Awosan says. “They pay attention to nonverbal cues and so they need to first build trust in-person.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Virtual therapy apps can still be beneficial for people with low-level anxiety, stress or insomnia, and they can also help users become aware of harmful behaviors and obtain a higher sense of well-being.&nbsp;



Sean Luo, a psychiatrist whose consultancy work focuses on machine learning techniques in mental health technology, says: “This why some of these companies are getting very high valuations. There are a lot of commercialization possibilities.” He adds that from a mental health treatment perspective, a virtual therapy app &#8220;isn’t going to solve your problems, because people who are truly ill will by definition require a lot more.”



Relying on digital therapy platforms might also provide a false sense of security for users who actually need more serious mental-health care, and many of these apps are ill-equipped to deal with emergencies like suicide, drug overdoses or the medical consequences of psychiatric illness. “The level of intervention simply isn’t strong enough,” says Luo, “and so these aspects still need to be evaluated by a trained professional.



&#8211; Ruth Umoh, Diversity and Inclusion Writer, Forbes Staff.

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How Virtual Therapy Apps Are Trying To Disrupt The Mental Health Industry

The Internet of Things (IoT) has shown us how almost every item in a household can be connected to offer smart features, from appliances to toothbrushes, to light bulbs and speakers. If you’re not sold on it yet – sometimes in Africa we don’t always have a choice – one of the more useful IoT cases is smart luggage.
For the frequent traveler, smart luggage is genius; and is set to revolutionize the way we travel. What makes luggage ‘smart’ are core features like GPS tracking, built-in batteries with USB charging ports, app or fingerprint locking, and weight scales.
The all-important GPS tracking feature will let you track your bags through a smartphone app. It’s the most accurate way to confirm your luggage was loaded onto the plane, and arrived at your final destination; more efficient than an airline attempting to provide you with the same information.
According to 2017’s The Baggage Report, published by SITA, the global IT and telecoms company that services the air transport industry, approximately six bags per 1,000 passengers were mishandled in 2016, down 12.5% from the previous year; and 47% of all delayed bags occurred during transfers.
The company expects these figures to drop further in 2018, due to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Resolution 753 that will come into effect in June this year. Cross-industry luggage tracking between airports, airlines and ground handlers are expected to be in place, which aims to reduce lost or delayed baggage from drop-off to pick-up.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2018/02/08/5-ai-innovations-need-aware/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: 5 AI Innovations You Need To Be Aware Of</a>
Smart luggage has already empowered travelers to keep track of their luggage instead of waiting for airlines to improve; and have now gone a step further with next-generation features showcased at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas in January 2018.
If you don’t want to be ‘that’ adult riding their suitcase across the airport to reach the boarding gate even faster (Modobag came up with the ‘world’s first motorized, rideable luggage), you can now get smart luggage that follows you around, like a dog.
Chinese company 90Fun worked with Segway to create a prototype called the Puppy 1, a suitcase that follows you around the airport using a remote control. It makes use of Segway’s self-balancing technology so the suitcase won’t fall over while navigating, and is bi-directional. A demonstration at CES showed that the suitcase can drive around by itself, or be controlled by a person. There’s no word when it will hit production or what it will cost.
In the meantime, you can pick something up from the world’s largest suitcase manufacturer, Samsonite, who came up with what they call the first “web connected” travel bag. The company says that each year, over 30 million lost luggage claims are filed, and their partnership with LugLoc provides users the technology to track their bags. Each bag is fitted with a GeoTrakR, which lasts 15 days when fully charged, and can be accessed via a smartphone app. A Bluetooth proximity sensor will let your app know once bags have reached the carousel. It won’t interfere with aviation rules as the device shuts off when the plane takes off, and powers back on upon landing.
Rival Delsey also has a smart range called Pluggage. The French luggage manufacturer crowd-sourced the top six features that travelers wanted most via an online campaign. The most sought-after features were a dedicated mobile app; fingerprint opening; international tracking; digital scale; device charger; and carousel alert mode. They are available in small, medium and large, all within airline specifications.
However, there are numerous brands with smart features out there, some of which you may not have heard of but appeared on crowd-sourcing platforms; all trying to outdo each other with design, battery capacity, built-in chat support, or notifications when your luggage has been opened out of sight. Ultimately, it boils down to buying a trusted brand versus a new one with nifty tech features.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/investment-guide/2017/09/13/tech-can-close-gap-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: How Tech Can Close The Gap In Africa</a>
The downside to buying smart luggage with built-in batteries is that, at the time of writing this article, three airlines in the United States have banned smart luggage that don’t have removable batteries, namely American, Delta, and Alaskan Airlines. American Airlines says “smart bags contain lithium battery power banks, which pose a risk when they are placed in the cargo hold of an aircraft”.
Subsequent to this announcement, smart luggage manufacturers are reportedly trying to comply with the new rules. Until then, we suggest purchasing smart luggage with removable batteries only. Two brands worth looking at that sell airline compliant bags are Away and Raden.
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways is the first airline to comply with Resolution 753 a year ahead of schedule by allowing passengers to track their luggage in real-time via its Track My Bags feature on the web and its mobile app. It also provides real-time notifications relating to checked-in luggage for all passengers.
Similarly, Delta has introduced RFID-embedded luggage tags that go onto all bags, a $50 million investment covering 344 airports, and 4,600 scanners. With sensors in place at various stages of handling, passengers are able to track their luggage via the free Delta app, available on Android, and iOS.
In a hyper-connected world, it is completely normal to check the status of your car, electricity at home, appliances, coffee-machine or luggage from a smartphone app. The only time you should be truly concerned is if you can’t adapt to your steadily-changing surroundings, or you run out of power. &#8211; Written by Nafisa Akabor

Luggage That Can Check Itself In?

Muzi Mkhize is determined, short and very presentable. The glasses fit the stereotype of a nerdy app developer. We meet at The Wine Bar, in the famous Vilakazi Street in Soweto, once home to two Nobel Prize winners, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The businesses there have the QR code to Mkhize’s app on their tables. Through it you can download the app and connect with the establishments.
Mkhize was born, and lived most of his life, in Soweto, about 30 kilometers south of Johannesburg. After completing high school in the east of Johannesburg, Mkhize moved into the Information Technology (IT) sector.
On graduation, in 2005, Mkhize worked for a few big companies. That is where he decided not a lot of black graduates are given opportunities to grow within the IT sector.
It led to Mkhize starting his own organization, Nobane Thunzi Capital (NTC) – named after his grandmother – which became a breeding ground for young black graduates, exposing them to the three tier sectors within IT.
“Tier one encompasses the service desk which is the log and despatch, that is the first line of contact, and that is where black employees get stuck. Tier two is more desktop support and tier three is specialization; specializing in security, network, app developments,” says Mkhize.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/entreprenuers/2017/12/14/situation-forced-entrepreneur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: &#8216;Situation Forced Me To Be An Entrepreneur&#8217;</a>
All too often black graduates stay on tier one, for five frustrating years, watching fellow white employees, many with fewer qualifications, move up, says Mkhize.
He had only worked in tier one and two, until he got a job that changed his life. He was entrusted with a site to handle, which allowed him to be a specialist in server administration.
“Now I am growing, now I’m handling an entire site with 300 people… all I was doing was reporting back at the head office. That was a big eye opener to start looking outside and start looking at opportunities, like what’s available,” he says.
<div id="attachment_34882" style="width: 509px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34882" class=" wp-image-34882" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/SoWhereTo-app-e1513757358434-300x172.jpg" alt="Muzi Mkhize SoWhereTo app" width="499" height="286" />Muzi Mkhize&#8217;s SoWhereTo app (Photo by Motlabana Monnakgotla)</div>
In December 2010, Mkhize handed in his resignation and started his own organization with the experience he had gained in eight years.
“From January, I started from the bottom. All I said to myself is I need enough to pay for my car on a monthly basis. If it means I have to move back home, so be it, but I need it to get from one client to the other,” he recalls.
Luckily for the enthusiastic Mkhize, he knew a human resource (HR) manager from the previous job; also an entrepreneur, who took the risk with him.
The HR manager offered him a contract for his company and that’s what paid for his car. That was the birth of NTC. The company has since grown from zero turnover to about R10 million ($705,000) in the space of five years, without any funding, nor marketing, just word of mouth.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/entreprenuers/2017/12/04/the-fortunate-lucky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The Fortunate Lucky</a>
In late 2015, Mkhize’s business partner and wife, Patricia, told him about a mobile application that had just been named the MTN Business App of the Year; it gave him a sleepless night, followed by a long, thoughtful morning shower. Mkhize called up his staff to tell them about his idea to create a mobile application like a business directory. The app, SoWhereTo, was created, developed, changed and finally rolled out to app stores on April 27, 2017 – Freedom Day in South Africa.
“We wanted to disrupt the likes of [South African property website] Property 24 because they don’t cater to the township market. Break it down to events, break it down to media that now engages the audience, it gives the audience exclusive content on what’s happening in the township. We then moved on to businesses. The whole app is for business, to empower and make awareness of what exists in townships,” he says.
The app is broken down into blocks: events; food and restaurants; media; businesses and tourism, marrying each other to create the multi-faceted app, hence the name SoWhereTo; derived from Soweto.
“So if someone asks ‘so where to?’ Kasi (townships) always,” says Mkhize, referring to townships across South Africa.
The app is growing and this year it was nominated for the same MTN Business App of the Year award which inspired it. A circle that began and ended in Soweto.

The Developer Who Quit His Job To Build An App

In a crowded market for recruiting software, Google has helped play hitmaker as strong search results and ads helping differentiate among a field including a host of startups and legacy players. Now Google&#8217;s taking on a new role of competitor.
With a new application announced on Tuesday called <a href="https://hire.google.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hire</a>, Google is taking aim at the small- and medium-sized business part of the recruiting market. Its pitch is simple: for recruiters who already spend much of their day in Gmail and Google Calendar, they can schedule interviews in Hire much faster and with a lot fewer clicks. &#8220;For people scheduling interviews, that&#8217;s all they do, day in and day out,&#8221; says Dmitri Krakovsky, a vice president at Google Cloud. &#8220;We believe this will save recruiters multiple hours a day copy and pasting things from one application to another.&#8221;
When Google studied how its G Suite customers were using recruiting software, they found that G Suite typically operated in a &#8220;parallel universe&#8221; to the third-party or homemade tools a company used for its recruiting functions. Companies would end up speaking with applicants by email and perform interviews using Google Voice and Hangouts, then log the activity on those tools. But in the interests of saving time, data would get lost routinely in that transfer, causing headaches as applicants moved through the system, Krakovsky says.
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The alternative solution to doing it all in Google would be to schedule calls and conduct more business within the third-party apps themselves. There are plenty of options in the market, from Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/cloud100/#5d523ce75f94" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cloud 100</a> companies iCIMS and Greenhouse Software to Bamboo HR, part of Utah&#8217;s <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2017/07/11/how-utahs-silicon-slopes-became-clouds-new-capital/#1072c1013310" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fast-growing cloud computing scene</a>, as well as Jazz HR, Lever, Workable, Zoho and public companies such as Cornerstone OnDemand, Oracle and SAP SuccessFactors. Google is betting that despite all those options — or even because of how many there are — a big chunk of its 3 million business customers for G Suite will find it easier to put everything in the same place as their work email.
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Hire syncs up to keep emails in one thread in Gmail and attach info such as room availability, contact numbers and interview questions within a Calendar invite. The app is for sale separately as a premium add-on to G Suite, initially just in the United States and for businesses of under 1,000 employees. More than 100 customers are already using Hire, Krakovsky says. The company plans to announce machine learning tools later this year that will allow, among other use cases, for recruiters to resurface strong candidates for previous positions when new ones open up.
The app is the first role-specific attempt of its kind for Google, which <a href="https://www.blog.google/products/search/connecting-more-americans-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced a Google for Jobs initiative</a> at its I/O conference to tackle job boards and listings. The closest comparison may be Google for Education as a set of tools, though that offering is specific to a vertical, not a function. Krakovsky says other role-based applications aren&#8217;t imminently planned.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2017/06/29/understanding-real-innovation-behind-iphone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Understanding the real innovation behind the iPhone</a>
For startups in the recruiting software space, the Hire app may limit growth opportunities within Google&#8217;s sphere. For customers who are happy with their existing providers, Hire may be intriguing more as an add-on or extension than as a full replacement.
If the result is happier G Suite customers, Google probably wouldn&#8217;t care. &#8220;Two days ago I was talking to a customer, and she said, &#8216;when I saw what you were doing with the calendar, I wanted to cry,'&#8221; says Krakovsky. &#8220;She had to open 7 different tabs, look at availability, write that down and go back to the app to try to make sense of it all. If we can do that in 30 seconds, it&#8217;s a huge boost.&#8221; &#8211; Written by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alex Konrad</a>, FORBES STAFF

Google Takes Aim At Recruiting Software Market With New App Called Hire

Luis von Ahn looks like a tech-guru who has made millions – casually-dressed, subtle and polite.
I meet the inventor and CEO of the world’s largest language app, Duolingo, the day before the launch of the app’s first African language, Swahili.
For Von Ahn, the road to introducing Swahili to the 150 million users of his educational language app has been long, and has taken him around the world since leaving his homeland Guatemala.
A son of two medical doctors, graduating from Guatemala City’s international school, Von Ahn had to look outside the Central American country to find education – a university that offered math degrees – perhaps inspiring him to create a universal educational tool later in life.
During the first year of his PhD studies at the prestigious Duke University in the United States, a particular talk would influence and shape his life.
“The chief scientist of Yahoo came to give a talk about 10 things they needed solutions for. They struggled with people creating Yahoo email accounts to send spam. That led me to do a test recognizing humans: CAPTCHA. We were online within six months,” says Von Ahn.
This stroke of genius did not make Von Ahn a dime, he says.
“I don´t regret it, because everyone started using it; all kinds of people started approaching me.”
As tech giants lined up to court the CAPTCHA inventor, then 29-year-old Von Ahn was thinking about his next step.
“Two hundred million CAPTCHAs were typed a day, it takes about 10 seconds, that’s 500,000 hours of typing every day, how could I use that?” he asks, revealing how he turned the thousands of hours into an efficient digitalization tool.
Digitalizing books were trending, but no one had cracked the code on how to efficiently publish them yet.
“Google was trying to do this,” says Von Ahn.
“A computer scans a page that needs deciphering, which computers could not do at that time.”
Pictures of words from books are put online as CAPTCHAs, humans then decipher it, and the computer then saves it.
“Today, we call this crowdsourcing,” Von Ahn says, smiling.
“It worked. We were probably doing a year of the New York Times in a week. Then Google bought it, and today CAPTCHA digitalizes 100 million words a day, which is two million books a year,” says Von Ahn, explaining how, if you have filled in a CAPTCHA since 2007, you are probably among the billion people who have helped.
The sale of the CAPTCHA business has never been disclosed, but Von Ahn admits that it did make him millions. After that adventure, 37-year-old Von Ahn wanted to focus on education.
“I wanted to work on something passion-driven, and we decided on languages because there are 1.2 billion people learning languages, and language has impact: learn English, and you can immediately make more money.”
Eyeing a massive hole in the market, Von Ahn threw himself into making Duolingo.
Alongside Swiss PhD student Severin Hacker (that is his real name), Von Ahn started creating a website.
“That’s what people did,” he says.
The app market was only just launching in 2011, but that was all about to change.
“We raised $3 million of funding and launched in 2012. A few months later we launched apps, and now there are more than 150 million using it,” Von Ahn says proudly.
The main income generator is the app’s online language tests, an alternative to the traditional TOEFL tests that measure your ability to use and understand English.
“The TOEFL tests are expensive, slow and have to be done manually at centers. This is much cheaper,” says Von Ahn, offering tests at $50, whereas a TOEFL is about $250.
“We have already got about 30 universities on board,” he says.
Targeting Africa seems like a good idea, as the number of smartphone connections has almost doubled since 2014, and the cost of buying a smartphone has dropped by more than 25% since 2012. According to reports, more than 500 million on the continent currently subscribe to mobile services, with mobile operators expecting numbers to reach 725 million in 2020.
“The lack of smartphones is the main challenge, but everyone is trying to grow here, like Facebook, so that will change,” says Von Ahn.
Founder of numerous African tech start-ups, Ndubuisi Ekekwe, has stayed clear of any app-based business.
“Most smartphones sold in Africa fail to download and install apps from apps stores,” he says, explaining how in Africa, phones are used for a longer period of time before being replaced, making the phones unable to handle many apps.
“Americans can upgrade their phones annually and that is in line with most app upgrades. But in Africa, people use their phones for more than three years,” says Ekekwe. “We do not see a roadmap for how that can be closed, and that is why I do not see a market for apps in Africa for a long time.”
Von Ahn is not too worried though.
“I recognize that in six years apps might not even exist, but right now I think we’re okay,” he says, convinced of his, and Duolingo’s, ability to adapt.
The app’s current mission is to introduce Swahili to its 150 million users. Judging by the waiting list of 45,000 users, he is probably right.

The Tech Wizard Who Wants The World To Learn Swahili

He grew up in grinding poverty; his mother went hungry to feed the family. At university he was so hungry that he disguised himself as a lecturer just for a free lunch. Years later, his determination and curiosity turned him into a genius in the world of innovative disruption; this is the life and story of Griffiths Sibeko, an app developer from Duduza, one of South Africa’s poorest shanty towns.
“I remember one day attending an inauguration of a professor and when I heard there was lunch and dinner I had to rush to the student residence to change into formal clothes so I look qualified to be in the meeting. This would become my lifestyle until I dropped out of school,” Sibeko says of the hungry road he has walked.
“I grew up in a one-bedroom house with three other family members. We were so poor that some days my mother would give us food while she went hungry,” he says during a break at the Riversands Incubation Hub Innovation Conference. At this conference, he was a delegate with an assured free lunch.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5316" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/WP_20160725_16_06_42_Rich_LI-2-169x300.jpg" alt="" width="169" height="300" />
Sibeko’s inspiration in developing apps comes from the challenges his country is facing. He built an app for public transport users that gives information on routes, times, distance, fares, stops, stations and where tickets can be bought.
“I am working on building apps that bring calm when there is chaos, like in South Africa’s taxi industry. This field requires passion, if you are in it for money then you will struggle and will not last long,” he says.
But where did Sibeko’s love for apps come from?
“I was 11 years old when my curiosity for computers started. I would go the Zakheni Primary School every day after school to observe people using computers. On my third visit, the instructor called me and gave me access to a computer that would become the path to my new life.”
His mother did not allow him to spend time with his neighbors.
“She feared they would spoil the character she was developing in me. It is these moments I spent alone and in the library that I came across a book called Mistakes That Worked. This book inspired me to explore more,” says Sibeko.
The man from Duduza felt he should share some of his knowledge to the next generation of computer wizards and enrolled for a degree in education at the University of Johannesburg.
“After a year, I realized it was not my thing and I dropped out,” he says. But, it was not over for Sibeko.
“I enrolled the following year for a degree in information management. I realized through this course I would get access to do courses in informatics and programming. After a year, I could not sustain studying as I was struggling financially,” says Sibeko.
As the year wound down, Sibeko left university. Through a hackathon challenge, organized at an aeroplane hangar, Sibeko would soon start solving problems he thought were within human reach. It was here where he developed the Rea Vaya app.
“Microsoft had advertised some fellowship towards the end of the year. I was told I had been accepted. I had to choose between continuing with school and working my way out of poverty.”
After this, Sibeko was set. He went on to win the MTN Apps Challenge in 2014. He says innovation should respond to the needs of the community.
“It is important for African app developers to devise solutions for people in their communities. I am working on developing apps for low-income earners,” he says.
Sibeko is working on yet another project.
“An app that seeks to expand how individuals can make new discoveries based on their environments. Finding hidden gems in familiar or unfamiliar places,” he says.
To achieve his dreams, Sibeko says he will have to put in a lot of hard work with many sleepless nights.
It is true; there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Tag: App

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

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The Developer Who Quit His Job To Build An App

Google Takes Aim At Recruiting Software Market With New App Called Hire

The Tech Wizard Who Wants The World To Learn Swahili

The Steve Jobs of Duduza?