@shibambumarvel1: My name is Marvel Shibambu, and together with my childhood friend and co-founder, Malungelo Mathonsi, we started NOVAR from Gumbani Village in Limpopo. We didn’t come from a technology background. We didn’t have a team, funding or expensive equipment. We had a vision, a second-hand computer that cost us R700, and the determination to figure things out. We taught ourselves how to code using YouTube and free resources. But the technology was never the main goal. We were trying to solve a problem we had experienced ourselves — the inequality in access to quality education. Growing up in an under-resourced community, we understood what it meant to learn without the libraries, computers and educational resources that many learners take for granted. We believed that where a learner is born should never determine the quality of education they receive. So we built NOVAR — an educational platform designed to make quality learning more accessible, particularly for learners who have been left behind by the traditional education system. Then something unexpected happened. Our story went viral on TikTok. What started with two young people in a village suddenly caught the attention of thousands of South Africans. People began supporting us through crowdfunding, and organisations like Liberty stepped in with funding, office space, mentorship and resources to help us take NOVAR further. (Government of South Africa) Today, NOVAR has grown far beyond what we imagined when we bought that R700 computer. It has evolved into a social learning platform combining educational content, community, study tools and AI to help African learners learn, grow and prepare for the future. (novarapp.com) But our story is still being written. We started in Gumbani Village. We built for the learners around us. We are building for Africa. And ultimately, we are building NOVAR for the world.

Shibambu Marvel

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Region: ZA

Saturday 22 August 2026 17:28:44 GMT