Mobile Intelligence Technologies, a software engineering social enterprise from Ndarama High School scooped the grand prize at the 2023 Junior Achievement Africa Company of the Year Competition held in Kigali, Rwanda from 6 to 8 December 2023.
The company, a prodigy of Junior Achievement Zimbabwe also walked away with prestigious FedEx and Project Management Institute Education Foundation signature awards. The FedEx award recognizes student-run businesses that best exhibit the principles of global connectivity, innovation, connection to new markets, whilst fueling community development and sustainable and social responsibility. The Project Management Institute Education Foundation award recognizes student companies who have demonstrated their ability to apply project management principles throughout the lifecycle of their project.
The team comprising of Chief Executive Officer Anesu Ruzive, Production Director Prosper Dzinavatonga, Finance Director Tapiwa Chuma, and Human Resources Director Prince Marley Tarirana, developed an offline application that enables students to carry out any Zimsec or IGCSE Physics, Biology and Chemistry experiment on a 3D simulator. The application also offers e-books and edutainment material, a mobile interaction hub and a career guidance platform with 3D mock interviews, driving, and aviation lesson simulations.
In an interview the CEO Anesu Ruzive stated “we set out to solve the global challenge that in the developing world science laboratories are scarce and usually insufficiently eqquipped. In the developed world where more resources are available, students are often disturbed by natural and man-made disasters such as pandemics and wars. Our application breaks socio-economic status, location, gender, race, disability and digital divide barriers since anyone can access it on an android mobile device or computer anywhere without data costs.”
The competition running under the theme “Breaking Barriers” brought together ten student companies from Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Eswathini, Mauritius, Cote d’Ivore, Zambia, Uganda, Rawnda and Zimbabwe. Mobile Intelligence Technologies will represent Africa at the Ralph De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Awards to be held in February 2024.
Junior Achievement Zimbabwe’s Executive Director Allen Chinhanhu stated that “winning the competition two years in a row shows that Zimbabwean youth are capable of competing at the highest level. I am confident that this year’s group is capable of matching last year’s performance at the Ralph De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Awards. Maranatha Christian School made history by becoming the first African student company to win the coveted global award.