Maketele “Maker” Khalo, an entrepreneur from Chebeng village in Limpopo, is turning his personal experience of struggling to support his former school into a business aimed at changing how schools access funding.
Khalo is the founder and CEO of Chelo, an education and social-impact platform that connects schools with alumni, parents, communities, corporates, NGOs and other potential donors.
He said the idea for Chelo came from his own desire to give back to his former school.
However, he found it difficult to determine what the school needed, how he could contribute meaningfully, and what would happen to the money after he donated.
“That experience made me realise that I probably wasn’t the only former learner who wanted to give back but didn’t know how,” Khalo said.
The experience eventually led him to ask: “What if we could make it as easy to support your former school as it is to support any other cause online?”
That question became the foundation for Chelo.
The platform uses its NextFinder tool to help schools identify and prioritise their needs, then turn those needs into specific projects they can present to potential funders.
Projects could include renovating classrooms, building libraries or improving technology infrastructure.
According to Khalo, the platform is designed to provide greater transparency throughout the process, from identifying a school’s needs to funding, implementation, verification and reporting.
“Our goal is to create a clear chain: Need → Project → Funding → Implementation → Verification → Impact,” he said.
Rather than simply transferring money to schools, Chelo links funding to specific projects and suppliers.
He said the funds are intended to be released when suppliers have completed work or reached agreed project milestones.
The model is also intended to give donors greater visibility of the impact of their contributions.
Khalo said Chelo has already partnered with Merafe Primary School in Soweto, where it is sponsoring a NextFinder assessment to identify and prioritise the school’s needs.
Depending on the outcome of the assessment, the school could also become a recipient of a solar project.
For Khalo, one of the biggest challenges in growing the business has been building trust among the different stakeholders involved in education.
“Schools want to know that Chelo understands their environment. Donors want to know that their money will be used properly. Suppliers want to know that there is a legitimate opportunity and that they will be paid,” he said.
Despite these challenges, Khalo said Chelo has reached 210 schools, while partnerships cover approximately 4,500 schools.
The platform has also facilitated projects, including the Hwiti school refurbishment project.
The business operates through several revenue streams.
Schools can purchase a NextFinder assessment for R8,000, while Chelo earns between 6.5% and 8.5% of funds raised through school wallets and project fundraising.
The company also earns commissions from suppliers who receive project opportunities through its ecosystem.
Khalo said the model is intended to make Chelo commercially sustainable while continuing to create an impact in education.
“Our long-term objective is therefore to build a commercially sustainable education ecosystem, rather than depend permanently on grants or donations to operate the platform,” he said.
Looking ahead, Khalo wants Chelo to reach thousands of schools across South Africa over the next three to five years, while expanding its network of alumni, communities, donors and suppliers.
However, he said the ultimate measure of success will not simply be the number of schools using the platform.
“Success would mean that when a school has a genuine need, there is a clear pathway to getting that need identified, funded and implemented,” said Khalo.
For the entrepreneur who grew up in a village in Limpopo, Chelo represents more than a technology business.
It is an attempt to create a practical link between people who want to give back and schools that need support, while ensuring that contributions translate into visible improvements for learners.
