Let’s explore the story of Thembiso Magajana, a South African passionate about digital education in rural areas. Through her organization, Social Coding, she strives to bridge the digital divide by training young unemployed individuals from rural communities in cutting-edge technologies.
Thembiso Magajana is a true pioneer of digital education in South Africa. Born in a small rural community, she quickly realized the challenges faced by families struggling for financial stability. Her curiosity for numbers and her desire to make a difference led her to a career in finance, but her true passion lay elsewhere: technology.
In 2017, she founded Social Coding, a nonprofit organization dedicated to recruiting, training, and employing young unemployed individuals from rural areas to facilitate digital literacy programs in local high schools. « Social Coding offers comprehensive training to empower young people with essential digital skills, » she explains. These programs include coding workshops, robotics training, and even virtual reality experiences, opening new opportunities for often marginalized students.
With a team of fifteen people, Social Coding has already impacted over 6,000 individuals across South Africa and recently expanded to Zambia through a partnership with Absa. Thembiso doesn’t stop at her country’s borders; she dreams of seeing Social Coding expand to other African nations, believing that coding and virtual reality are powerful tools to bridge economic and technological disparities. As a social entrepreneur, Thembiso Magajana aspires to leave a legacy of positive and lasting change. « I want to be recognized for inspiring others to pursue their dreams and create opportunities for themselves and their communities, » she declares with determination. Recently honored with the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award, she embodies the commitment to making a real difference in the lives of rural populations through technology.
