In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa lacked the capacity to provide internet access to learners for remote learning, and millions of kids could not afford data to connect via a mobile device. The local cellular data sales strategy most closely resembles that of a drug dealer, with high prices and small quantities called data bundles. For no apparent reason, they have an expiration time, usually two to five days, and whatever remains of the purchased data is void at the cut-off time. The cost per gigabyte in South Africa has historically been among the highest in the world, averaging $10.00.

With a majority rural, low-income population, the prospect of remote learning meant something very different for most kids: they would not receive access to education for the duration of the pandemic. This seemed unacceptable to some colleagues and me. We couldn't understand why nobody seemed to be doing anything about it. We had identified a need.

Naturally, a startup resulted.