By: Tebogo Mokwena
After gaining widespread popularity and success with the Geleza calculator in 2021, Geleza Tech founder Mothupi Kgopa is working on expanding his business. He is building a tutorial centre, a pencil and chalk manufacturing warehouse, and a Geleza shop and has developed a tablet for school children. Kgopa said that the warehouse, centre, and shop would be fully functional by March, and the tablet had already been launched.
Vutivi News published an article a year ago about the Geleza calculator, which is owned by Kgopa’s Geleza Tech. Kgopa, who is a mathematician, thanked Vutivi News for the article saying it helped put his business on the map. Speaking to the online publication about his company’s recent developments, Kgopa said that he believed that his business would be the first black-owned pencil manufacturer. It would start off by producing two million HB pencils and 500,000 packs of coloured pencils.
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He said that he decided to manufacture pencils to make them more affordable for parents. “Each pencil will be sold for R1, which is cheaper than the retail price which is at R3 for a pencil,” he said. “We will also be manufacturing white and coloured chalks, which are also expensive when not bought in bulk,” Kgopa said the pencils were sponsored by a corporation. “I have travelled to a lot of schools and I would find that teachers end up having to buy students pencils and pens, and this is a crisis that is similar to the one I faced when I decided to launch the Geleza calculator,” he said.
Kgopa said that the Geleza shop was near completion and was set to be launched around February. The tutorial centre would be located in Midrand and would be a hybrid centre that offered mathematics, science, robotics and coding tuition. The centre already has 50 students from across the country and they will pay R2000 a month. Kgopa said Geleza Tech launched a tablet in December, which was sold at R900 with an option to purchase the product on laybuy over three months,.
Kgopa said that not only was he making it easier for pupils to learn, but his new ventures would also create employment opportunities. “Geleza will provide some of the best tutors and coaches that will help these pupils who registered online from the comfort of their own homes,” he said. “The shop will also employ till workers, stock controllers, and other roles,” Kgopa told Vutivi News that he continued to be driven by the need to provide quality education at an affordable price. “We want to make it easier for parents to give their children quality educational products at a fair price,” he said.
