Obed Dube

Youth in Business

Nominee's Province:
Gauteng

Age:
34

Project Name/Description:
Gapup

More info:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/obed-dube

“You have hidden potential, let me help you prove it” That’s Obed Dube’s go-to advice when students reach out. In 2015, Dube, 34, created an innovative platform called Gapup to help his younger brother and his friends ace their matric exams. At the time his brother was in Grade 11. “I would constantly think about how I could help him with his studies the following year as that would be his most important academic year,” he says. Gapup.co.za, which is now free to all matric school learners in South Africa via smart devices, seeks to unlock every learner’s potential by testing their knowledge against past exam papers. Answers are marked in real-time and study tasks are issued to turn each identified problem area into strengths. Subjects that learners can access on the platform are Mathematics, Physical Science, Life Science, Geography, History, Economics, Business Studies, Mathematical Literacy and English. Remarkably, before conceptualising Gapup, Dube had no IT background, only an Honours degree in General Management. “I had no IT experience. My goal was to help my younger brother. I stayed up late into the night researching cognitive studies in relation to memory while simultaneously learning HTML, coding and so on., Today, I have helped students identify and overcome more than 2.8 million problem areas for free, as the platform is self-funded.” says Dube, who lives and works in Johannesburg.