Mabotseba Kobeli Masangane
Nominee's Province:
Gauteng
Project Name/Description:
Author & Publisher – Kobeli Education
Mabotseba Kobeli Masangane is from Qwaqwa in the Free State. Her journey from education to publishing shows resilience, creativity and community support. Masangane’s academic journey began at the University of Cape Town, where she studied a BSc in construction studies. Later, at the University of South Africa, she pursued education.
For four years, she dedicated herself to teaching at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. Then, she ventured into the world of children’s literature, becoming an author and publisher, positively impacting young minds.
After two years at a publishing company, she began writing TVET textbooks for Troupant and MacMillan Publishers, specialising in civil engineering. Her authored textbooks have been invaluable resources for students.
“In 2017 I wrote and self-published my first book, Photo Day. It is a multilingual book with three languages: English, Sesotho and IsiZulu. I wrote this book to help my daughter learn all three languages. My husband speaks isiZulu and I speak Sesotho. My wish was to ensure that she does not only speak English,” she explains.
Masangane then came to the realisation that other parents would also appreciate a book that has multiple languages and this is when she started a publishing company to write and publish more of these in English, Sesotho, isiZulu and isiXhosa.
Her entrepreneurial spirit now shines through Kobeli Education, where she continues to write and publish children’s books, nurturing young readers’ minds.
