Bringing blockchain education to Lesotho and South Africa

Catherine Lephoto (Executive Director of Global Partnerships at VXTechnologies and BSV Ambassador) recently organised a series of blockchain and VR workshops in Lesotho and South Africa.

The workshops, which were sponsored by Finnovant, focused primarily on education and how these emerging technologies can be used to address core socio-economic issues in the two countries.

‘I am a strong believer that blockchain adoption in Africa has to start with education. I am always posting about this matter on all my social media platforms,’ she said. My work for VX Technologies is centred around bringing blockchain records for education and professional credentials to the African continent.

‘To this end, I interact a lot with regulators and decision-makers in governments within the ministries of education in various countries. I believe it is my incessant promotion of the transformative power of blockchain technology and its potential in solving Africa’s myriad social problems that caught the attention of the leadership of the US company, Finnovant, as they had a similar focus on the continent of Africa.’

The workshops were held at three different colleges:

  • The Ekurhuleni East TVET College in Springs (South Africa)
  • Ekurhuleni West TVET College in Boksburg (South Africa)
  • The 119-year-old Lerotholi Polytechnic Institute in Maseru (Lesotho).

Lephoto noted that the workshops were a success for several reasons, including:

  • The team interacted with final-year students, highlighting potential opportunities in the emerging world of work, particularly in Web3-related industries.
  • They demonstrated how technology is rapidly transforming the development and delivery of education.
  • They showcased how smartphones, rather than laptops or computers, can be effectively used for delivering educational content.
  • The power of Virtual Reality and gamification in teaching technical subjects, such as HVACR, was emphasised.
  • The students were introduced to new business models made possible by Web3 technologies.
  • For many students, it was their first exposure to blockchain technology.
  • Some students, particularly from Lerotholi Polytechnic, had already begun developing their own apps prior to the team’s visit.
  • The interaction with Finnovant executives opened opportunities for these students to collaborate with developers from more advanced economies, a transformative experience for young people from underdeveloped regions like Lesotho.

Promotion at a national level

Lephoto said that the workshops were so successful because of the buy-in of the leadership at South Africa’s Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).

‘I have been working with the DHET for many months now showing them the benefits and potential power of blockchain technology and how it can help the country make a dent in the stubborn high graduate youth unemployment plaguing not just the Republic of South Africa but also the Kingdom of Lesotho and the rest of the region.

‘I was grateful to be invited as a guest speaker to the National Examinations and Assessment Lekgotla organised by the DHET at The Lakes Hotel and Conference Centre in Benoni from 15 – 17 April 2024.

‘This made it possible for me to address the leadership of all the TVET and CET colleges across South Africa about the impact of blockchain technology and how it is transforming lives globally. More importantly, why is it crucial to move quickly to introduce this technology into the education of young college students in South Africa.’

The benefits of the BSV blockchain

Lephoto said that small countries like Lesotho can benefit tremendously from being introduced to and using the BSV blockchain technology. ‘This is a country with students and young graduates who are hungry for knowledge and are inspired to better their lives. There is no better proof of these than the students we met who have already developed their own apps despite the extremely limited resources they have to contend with.

‘I think an institution like Lerotholi Polytechnic would be amenable to partnering with the BSV Academy to ensure that the content of BSV reaches more young Africans in Southern Africa,’ she said.

She noted that Lesotho is also a country where the government and institutional leadership is always looking for opportunities to partner with institutions that can help them guide their policy framework, especially around these new, disruptive technologies.

‘I believe BSV Blockchain would be well-advised not to overlook small countries like Lesotho. Sometimes small can be a competitive advantage.’

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