The SeeBox, by South African company K Measure, took top honours in the Education category in the final round of the African Entrepreneurship Awards, sponsored by BMCE Bank of Africa.
Taking place in Marrakesh, Morocco, the competition attracted 5000 entries from 54 countries in Africa and awarded a million Dollars in prize money.
The Scientific Engineering Education Box, or SeeBox, took home $150 000 for its potential to develop Africa’s children into engineers.
Local entrepreneur and engineer, Johann Kok, developed the solution as an educational game that empowers young people to become participants, rather than victims, of the evolving technology economy.
Two of South Africa’s leading schools have already committed to the installation of SeeBoxes in their new science centres. When asked about the initiative from the schools, Kok commented that:
“We are very excited to work with forward-thinking schools and are committed to seeing many young engineers, both boys and girls, emerge from these schools in future. My life’s mission is to educate the next generation of tech nerds in a fun and engaging way.”
SeeBox addresses the global shortage of engineers by introducing learners to the core principles of electricity and electronics by means of an easy to use technological solution.
The project grew out of the engineer’s childhood experiences tinkering with discarded electronics, which he believes prepared him for a successful career.
“It is impressive to learn of this innovative concept that will not merely serve an educational purpose and fill a vacuum in Africa, but elsewhere around the globe too”, said one of the mentors at the African Entrepreneurship Award.
SeeBox will be commercially available in early 2016, with public pre-orders opening soon.
For more information visit Seebox.