Determined to preserve the country’s indigenous languages, a social entrepreneur has launched an online application aimed at achieving this very goal.
Ambani Africa is an educational technology company that focuses on creating resources that are fun and engaging for children in the foundation phase.
Speaking to Vuk’uzenzele, Ambani Africa founder and chief executive, Mukundi Lambani, said the idea came from parents who complained about their children who spoke English fluently but struggled with indigenous languages.
Ambani’s journey grew wings in 2021 when its free language app won the prestigious MTN App of the Year award. The name "Ambani," which means "speak" in Tshivenda, aims to empower learners to communicate and learn effectively in their languages.
It features games, videos, digital books, and lessons available in English and over 15 other languages, including isiZulu, Kiswahili, Yoruba, French, Spanish, and many more.
Ambani was founded in 2018 but only started its operation in 2020.
“We also spoke to educators who were saying that the law says they should be able to teach children in their mother tongue but they don’t have a lot of material to teach with,” she said.
The app, which is available on the company’s website, features songs, animated stories, and books.
“It is an engaging way for learners to learn. We also have what we call augmented reality books, so those are physical books that are used with the application.
You choose a language and books come to life in augmented reality,” said the 37-year-old.
She lauded her team, which comprises 10 people, saying they had bought into her vision and played a huge role in bringing the concept to life. The team consists of heads of content, tech, sales, corporate, and learning as well as audio, marketing, visuals and a developer.
“The project has also taken the input of educators and translators as well. Initially, you think you’ll be fine, you’ll just translate, but language is so specific and nuanced. We needed professional people to be involved,” added Lambani, who holds a Bachelor of
Arts in Motion Picture from South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance (AFDA) and a Master’s degree from the University of Bournemouth in the United Kingdom.
While Ambani currently focuses on the foundation phase, plans are afoot to develop content for higher grades.
“We also want to cover more subjects,” she said.
While the platform is accessible to the public, free content is limited. Users can create an account with up to three profiles. Until two months ago, when the platform adopted a subscription model, it had over 60 000 users on its application.
“We have a ‘for-you’ page that remains free but everything else you can subscribe to,” concluded Lambani. ¥
To get in touch with Ambani Africa
visit www.ambaniafrica.com
E-mail info@ambaniafrica.com
For more information Ambani Africa is also available on Instagram and Facebook.
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