Duo From Rural Village Invent Viral ‘Novar App’ to Democratize Education in South Africa

Business News World

Published by Gugulethu Nxumalo at May 21, 2025

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In the heart of South Africa’s rural communities, where chalkboards still reign and digital learning is a distant dream for many, two childhood friends, Marvel Shibambu and Malunghelo Mathonsi, are building a revolution, one lesson at a time, through the Novar App.

Their innovation? Novar, a mobile-first learning platform transforming how high schoolers access quality education.

Founded with a bold vision to level the academic playing field, Novar has already surpassed 50,000 downloads on the Google Play Store. But this is more than just an app; it’s an ecosystem. A virtual school where students can engage in live classes, join peer discussion groups, access digital libraries packed with study guides and past papers, and test themselves with in-app assessments.

In an exclusive interview, co-founder Marvel told UrbanGeekz, “You don’t just go to Novar to learn. You go to Novar to grow, to discover, to be curious. We want to nurture the kind of learner who’ll go on to solve South Africa’s, and the world’s, biggest problems.”

From a Village in Limpopo to the Google Play Store

In the remote village of Gumbani, nestled in South Africa’s Limpopo province, two best friends shared an impossible dream. No computer. No formal training. Just grit, curiosity, and a shared belief that education shouldn’t be a privilege.

Today, that dream lives on through Novar, a fast-growing mobile app that is changing how South African students, especially in rural communities, access education.

Marvel Shibambu and Malunghelo Mathonsi, the minds behind Novar, are self-taught coders who started with nothing more than R700 (about $37) and a second-hand computer. “We didn’t even have a computer at first,” Marvel recalls. “We saved up just R700 to buy a second-hand PC and started learning to code from YouTube videos.”

Armed with determination and YouTube tutorials, the duo built Novar, a free virtual learning platform tailored for South African high schoolers.

Building for the Margins First

The founders have deliberately centered Novar’s mission around rural communities, those most neglected by South Africa’s fragmented education system. “This problem exists everywhere, but it’s worse in the rural areas,” the co-founder noted. “Old infrastructure, poor resources, these students are stuck in a broken system. That’s why we’re starting here.”

Human-Centered Technology

Designed to feel more like a supportive school community than a traditional e-learning site, Novar combines the power of AI, a real-time “live feed” for virtual classes, and community features that foster collaboration. The platform’s Learning Hubs specifically target the South African high school curriculum, providing structured lessons in subjects like mathematics and physics, delivered in a format tailored for introverted and self-paced learners.

One mother shared with the founders that her son, once stuck at 41% in math, jumped to 71% in a single term after using Novar. “He was always told he had potential, but the traditional classroom didn’t work for him. At home, through Novar, he finally found a space to learn comfortably,” she said.

Novar has currently raised $11,876 or 99% of their $12,000 goal on GoFundMe to cover the cost of servers and keep the app free for all South African high school students in 2025. “Think of our servers like rent,” the founder explained. “If we can’t pay, we can’t stay online. We’re not asking learners to pay. We’re asking society to invest in them.”

Though the co-founders are keeping their long-term ambitions close to the chest, they hint at something transformative. “At some point in the future, whenever you think of learning, you’ll use a Novar product to do it.”

To get there, they’ll need more than passion; they’re calling on investors, tech talent, and partners to join their mission. “With just three people, we’ve made this much impact. But we know we can go further with the right support.”

Explore the Novar app here. You can also reach out to Novar’s founders at Shibambumarvel@gmail.com or shoot Marvel a text message at WhatsApp +2778 127 1344.