Transforming Lives Through STEM Education, Entrepreneurship, And Evaluation In South Africa

Via our Youth Entrepreneurship Portfolio over the last five years USADF has invested more than $4 million dollars in over 250 early stage African social entrepreneurs.

Mmabatho Mokiti is a social impact entrepreneur in Johannesburg, South Africa. As the founder of Mathemaniacs, a math and science education company, and DreamGirls Academy, a mentoring program for girls, she combines her passion for education with her desire to create life-changing opportunities for women and youth.

What are you working on in the field of social and economic justice?
I’m the founder of DreamGirls Academy, an organization dedicated to empowering young women and bringing them from economic dependency to self-sufficiency with education, mentorship programs, financial study aid, and corporate employee volunteer programs. I believe education is the key to bringing people out of poverty. I also work in digital and technical education. I mentor young entrepreneurs and promote STEM education. My current work focuses on designing development programs and corporate social investment that has a measurable desired impact.

What inspired you to start this venture?
I have always been interested in social impact. I’ve seen companies, nonprofits, and governments say they’re doing good and are putting money towards development. However, many do not produce results aligned with the goals of the investment or venture. I care about making projects sustainable and impactful not only in rhetoric but really in action. I care about education and believe education is such a meaningful way to improve livelihoods and decrease poverty, so it’s essential to do it right. Social impact to me is not just a company saying they will give money towards a child’s school fees to lift them out of poverty, but it is much more what happens with that school fee? Does the child then go on to college, graduate college, become economic contributors by finding suitable employment or starting a sustainable business and provide for their family? If so, then that is a social impact. 

What is the biggest challenge you have overcome and how did you overcome it?
One of the biggest challenges I have faced in my career thus far is the difficulty still today with being a woman in STEM and, specifically, in monitoring and evaluation. I’ve encountered men who haven’t taken me seriously. I’ve had to fight for recognition. I once had someone ask me to speak to my real boss, and I responded, “Say what you have to say to me. I am the boss.” I face these challenges with tenacity and strength. This may be more difficult for me as a woman in a white male-dominated field now, but with each step I take, I’m improving accessibility in this field for all the women who come after me. And that is what keeps me going.

What is the biggest challenge you’re facing with your venture currently?
A big challenge now is changing the dominant mindset around how to do successful monitoring and evaluation. If you want to see projects that have a tangible, measurable impact, M&E cannot just come as an afterthought. Monitoring and evaluation should be included at the inception stage, then implemented every step of the way, from crafting a budget to timelines, to closeout. 
 

How do you like to help others and give back to your community?
I take pride in connecting people in my community and across the world. There are lots of people who have plans to do good work and lots of people who have the money to do it. Independently, neither one can produce many results. However, together, with proper measures in place, they can have a lasting positive impact on the community. I bring those changemakers together to create projects that make a difference, whether it be a nonprofit and a bank looking to give back or just someone with a good idea for a social venture which needs a venture capitalist. Connecting people to spark new ideas is how I give back. 

What is your dream for the world?
My dream for the world is that everyone, everywhere, all men, women, and children have access to quality education. I know how access to education can do wonders for underserved populations. My dream is for everyone to have access to tools needed to succeed and provide for themselves through quality education. 

What advice would you give to someone looking to make a difference or start their own venture?
Starting your own business takes a lot of time, money, and effort. If this is something you’re serious about, make sure it’s something you really really care about. Your business should be an extension of yourself, and if it is, there’s a lot of potential for it to be a success. Building your own business takes grit, and if it’s something you don’t care about from the bottom of your heart, you’ll have a hard time sticking with it. Also, the narrative that social enterprises don’t make money is completely false. There is so much potential for high profits in social enterprises around the world. Don’t shy away from doing something good because you think you can make more money elsewhere. You can positively impact people’s lives and make a nice profit.

What do you see for the future of your venture?
My goal is to help all companies strive to do good and sustainable work, invest in projects that align with the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and reach the targets they set for themselves. There’s so much potential to do good with further monitoring and evaluation. I also want to continue to increase my work in STEM education in rural areas – it’s vital to children everywhere, regardless if they’re born in a city or not, to have access to quality education. My gratitude goes out to USADF, as they assisted me in unlocking a business potential that I’ve always wanted to venture into and didn’t have the funding for it. This funding gave me access to creating opportunities for others and taught me how to run a sustainable business.

USADF awarded Batho Mokiti with a $25,000 entrepreneurship grant, in 2014 – the Agency’s inaugural year of directly supporting young African entrepreneurs, at the start of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Mandela Washington Fellowship.  With this funding, Batho expanded the reach of Mathemaniacs in rural parts of South Africa, and developed interactive curriculum in science and math disciplines for primary school students.  From her work with corporate partners, and her training as a mathematician, Batho dug further into designing for and measuring outcomes – work that she applies to her venture, her NGO, and her monitoring and evaluation work with public, private and not-for-profit partners across Africa.

Source: USADF