ABOUT THIS EPISODE
When Tshegofatso Dludla started tutoring high school students in maths and science, she noticed something that stuck with her: it wasn’t just that learners were struggling—it was that they didn’t understand why these subjects mattered. For many, the learning felt abstract, boring, and disconnected from the world they lived in.
That frustration became fuel. Together with her husband, Tshego created the Tshala Foundation, an NPO using coding and robotics to make learning engaging. But as she quickly discovered, passion alone wasn’t enough to sustain impact. If she wanted change to scale, she needed a business model that could fund its own growth.
That’s how AfriCAN Code was born—a for-profit company that’s transforming primary education across South Africa while developing tools and experiences that make STEM subjects come alive. AfriCAN Code doesn’t just teach coding and robotics; it creates a bridge between abstract maths and science concepts and the hands-on, problem-solving skills that kids will need for the future.
Today, Tshego is building a team of black female tech developers, designing proudly South African educational tools and applications, and scaling her impact from classrooms to the continent. Every project, every curriculum, and every lesson is grounded in a simple principle: learning should be fun, accessible, and relevant.
This isn’t just a story about education. It’s about entrepreneurship with purpose. It’s about turning frustration into innovation, passion into a sustainable business, and education into opportunity. For founders, educators, and anyone passionate about African innovation, Tshego’s journey is proof that building something that matters starts with seeing a problem clearly—and refusing to settle for the status quo.
