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Lasse Leponiemi

Chairman, The HundrED Foundation
first.last@hundred.org

BambaLearn App

No child should be left behind

The BambaLearn App revolutionises early childhood education in South Africa's under-resourced communities. It offers a fun, interactive platform for children ages 2-6, blending games, storybooks, and creative tools to develop critical skills. With personalized learning and educator support, BambaLearn bridges the education gap, providing scalable, accessible and effective early learning.
HundrED Global Collection
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Overview

HundrED has selected this innovation to

HundrED Global Collection 2026

Updated November 2025
Web presence

1

Countries
Students early
Target group
Through the BambaLearn app, we hope to see a transformative change in early childhood education by providing equitable access to high-quality learning in under-resourced communities. We aim to improve children's cognitive, emotional and social development, enhance educators' skills, and equip a generation of children with essential skills for future academic success and lifelong opportunities.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

Many children in South Africa’s rural communities lack access to quality learning opportunities, while ECD centers often have untrained educators and no structured curricula. The BambaLearn App addresses this gap through interactive, curriculum-aligned activities to help children develop essential skills and supports educators with resources to improve teaching, breaking the cycle of poverty.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

The BambaLearn App is an intuitive, data-free mobile application designed for children aged 2-6 and their educators in under-resourced communities. It provides a rich, interactive learning environment with curriculum-aligned activities, multilingual storybooks, and educational games that develop literacy, numeracy, and cognitive skills. Educators receive SACE-accredited training and continuous support to integrate the app into daily lessons, while built-in progress tracking helps identify learning gaps and offer targeted interventions. Offline functionality ensures accessibility, even in remote areas. The app fosters parental engagement by encouraging families to use it at home, creating a seamless learning ecosystem. With over 4,090 educators trained and 63,500 children reached across 710 ECD centres, BambaLearn empowers communities and ensures no child is left behind.

How has it been spreading?

Since its launch in 2020, the BambaLearn App has expanded rapidly through partnerships with ECD centres, government initiatives, and NPOs across South Africa. The app has reached over 63,000 children across 700+ ECD centres, equipping educators with digital tools and structured learning resources.
ATB works closely with the Department of Basic Education, training over 4,000 educators and distributing tablets preloaded with the app to under-resourced communities. The app’s data-free functionality ensures accessibility, even in areas with limited internet connectivity, making it a scalable solution for early learning. Moving forward, we aim to expand to 200,000 children nationwide, grow internationally, strengthen early learning outcomes and ensure no child is left behind in the digital education revolution.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

A sample set of games can be downloaded from the Google Pay Store or the App Store. Alternatively, a code can be provided to work through and try the games. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.BambaLearn.app

Impact & scalability

Impact & Scalability

BambaLearn is making strong strides in early childhood education by combining play-based, gamified learning with teacher and parent engagement. Its offline, low-data model supports inclusion in underserved areas, while expanding partnerships and independent validation could help sustain growth beyond South Africa.

HundrED Academy Reviews

This innovation leverages the power of an app to deliver a uniform, impactful learning experience to a broad range of kinder aged children with diverse learning gaps. The focus on social, emotional and cognitive learning is critical.

The offline functionality enables access in remote areas and rural assessment centers. It supports educator training and involvement, inclusive education for children with disabilities, and shares data with government agencies to scale in communities.

- Academy member
Academy review results
Impact
Scalability
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Read more about our selection process

Implementation steps

Site Visit
Conduct initial visits to ECD centres to assess readiness and introduce the Bamba Learn programme.
Identify centres that require additional resources and support.
Teacher Training
Train teachers on how to use the Bamba Learn app effectively in the classroom - 5 days in person followed by bi-monthly check in up-skilling training.
Demonstrate how the app benefits both teachers and children by enhancing learning outcomes.
Provide SACE accredited Management training for ECD Centre Principals
Provision of Tablets & Connectivity
Supply underprivileged ECD centres with tablets for classroom use.
Provide data-free SIM cards to ensure uninterrupted access to the app
Monitoring & Assessment
Use the online assessment centre to track children’s progress and identify learning gaps.
Analyse data to ensure children achieve age-appropriate developmental milestones.
Upskilling & Support
Provide targeted training for teachers to close identified gaps in children's learning.
Offer continuous support to enhance teaching strategies and maximise the app’s impact.
Progress Tracking & Reporting
Monitor progress term-by-term to ensure improvements in key learning areas.
Share insights with educators and stakeholders to drive informed interventions.
This structured approach ensures that Bamba Learn is effectively integrated into ECD centres, empowering teachers and enhancing children's learning experiences.

Spread of the innovation

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