Early education is vital, yet it’s sadly under-resourced in South Africa. There are a million children aged 3-5 who don’t have access to early learning programmes, which are crucial for mental stimulation and growth. SmartStart, an early learning social franchise in South Africa, is on a mission to give every child the power to succeed – a mammoth task that saw them reaching out to Helm (previously Praekelt Consulting) to help them make a difference.
Helm is synonymous with turning complex human realties such as this one into simple experiences. The team of engineers and experienced designers assessed the problem and turned to automation to create a smart, simple solution that helps teachers every single day. The solution saw Helm and SmartStart bag a silver Smarties Award in 2021, which was acknowledged at the ceremony in April 2022.
Says Ebrahim Vally, chief product officer at Helm: “We are humbled to be acknowledged by our peers for the work we did with SmartStart, especially because it is work that will make an impact in early learning development – a bot with a feel-good purpose.”
The WhatsApp bot has now become an important tool for the early learning practitioners, with education resources being housed in a familiar and comfortable space – their own mobile phones. The chatbot is user-friendly, accessible to all, and affordable without taking up too much space. And when the team at Helm say user-friendly, they mean all 11 official languages user-friendly.
“Too often in South Africa, we think, advertise and write in English, which is a second language for most of our population. With a SmartStarter community that stretches throughout the country, we felt it was an absolute must to build a bot that speaks all 11 official languages,” says Vally.
Nomsa Muthaphuli, chief operations officer at SmartStart, says life has become easier for its under-resourced early learning practitioners. “We underestimate how difficult it can be for our early learning practitioners when they’re at full capacity. The technology we have developed here automates a lot of the admin, allowing the SmartStarters to focus on the futures they’re so very passionate about.”
They are now able to check attendance, share pictures, look at lessons and plan activities – all on their very own smartphones. The objective was – and remains – to help as many SmartStarters as possible, and in so doing as many children as possible.
Did it work? The numbers don’t lie:
- 4 234 unique users / practitioners with a retention rate of 71%
- 54 million automated interactions to assist practitioners
- 103 000 Children reached by SmartStart
- And don’t forget, 11 official South African languages
“Ultimately,” concludes Vally, “we want to help SmartStart reach their target of a million children, and this solution is certainly going to help get us there.”
Helm believes that simplicity can change the face of an experience. And there is no experience more important than the education of South Africa’s youth.
For more information on Helm and the services it offers please visit www.helm.africa. For more about Smartstart, visit www.smartstart.org.za.
About Helm
Formerly Praekelt Consulting, Helm has spent the last 20 years creating best-across-class products and services that have answered complex customer experience challenges. The team designs intelligent products and services that have helped Africa’s biggest brands turn messy customer realities into experiences they can’t live without. Its tiered product offering combines tools, tech and expertise to meet the needs of any sized business. To date, Helm has helped its clients to connect, converse with and convert over 500 million users across multiple markets, channels and languages. Clients include the likes of Absa, MTN, DStv, Makro and Dr. Oetker.
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