A local company, FoondaMate, has launched a service that allows grade 10 – 12 learners to access study material and past papers via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

The service, which is FREE and available in 12 languages, has already been used by 350 000 learners across South Africa.

FoondaMate was developed by Dacod Magagula, who grew up in Mbombela, and Tao Boyle, who grew up in Cape Town.

“For many South African learners, a lack of access to the internet is a massive concern,” says Magagula. “The financial commitments associated with owning a computer, coupled with the excessive cost of data, have left many students at a disadvantage.

“Now, with FoondaMate, all a student needs is a smart phone with a small amount of data to access a world of information.”

FoondaMate creates AI-powered WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger chat bots that deliver study notes, research information, past papers and even solve algebraic equations in plain text format. And it does all of this in less than a minute.

“It’s like having a 24/7 study buddy on your phone,” says Magagula.

“Most learners are already using WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger on their phones,” says Boyle. “We’re building on top of the apps they already use and turning them into educational tools.”

Students wishing to set up a profile should simply WhatsApp the word “Hello” to 060 070 3213, answer a few questions about themselves, and start asking questions. If they want to use the Facebook Messenger version they should just DM @foondamate on Facebook Messenger.