What began as a small Nelson Mandela University Honours project has evolved into one of the world’s most inspiring education movements.
The first-ever Tangible EdTech Awards were presented at a prestigious gala dinner in Cape Town on Wednesday evening, 19 November.
Tangible is a project aimed at introducing learners to coding concepts without the need for computer labs, electricity, or the internet. It originated from a BSc Honours project at Nelson Mandela University in 2017, when Byron Batteson developed the TANKS coding app.
With the Leva Foundation as implementation partner, the project has evolved into a global movement across five continents, with various coding apps and a wide range of teacher material. In South Africa, the focus is on empowering teachers from all schools for the future implementation of the gazetted Coding and Robotics curricula. One of the main tools is a WhatsApp Chatbot, used to distribute free CAPS-aligned lessons for Grades R to 7.
Tangible’s other flagship project is #Coding4Mandela, linked to the annual Mandela Day. In 2025, over 50 000 learners participated. This culminated in the Tangible World Cup in September, where 340 teams from 30 countries participated. The World Cup was presented in collaboration with Amazon’s Think Big Spaces.
Ryan le Roux, CEO of Leva Foundation:
“We are proud to honour individuals and organisations for their deep local impact and wide large-scale impact to provide access and opportunity to all learners.”
The founder of Tangible, Prof Jean Greyling:
“This concept of #ChangingLives has been at the center of Tangible’s vision from the start. Based on Mandela’s famous quote, we believe that the son of a farm worker can become a data scientist, and the daughter of a bank teller can become a software developer.”
Prof Christa Grobler, Dean of Science at Nelson Mandela University:
“As an academic it is wonderful to see that an Honours project did not end up on the shelf, but is ‘Changing the World’, as our logo states.”
For more information, contact Prof Greyling at jean.greyling@mandela.ac.za.
List of Awards
Top Tangible Teacher – Coding4Mandela
With Coding4Mandela this year, the emphasis was on schools hosting their own events rather than having many centralised ones. Numerous schools across the country took ownership of this challenge, resulting in over 50 000 learners participating.
At Diazville Primary School in Saldanha, real ownership was taken of Coding4Mandela as a culmination of the regular use of our CAPS-aligned lessons. Over 750 learners participated in the Coding4Mandela dance, interactive Mandela-themed activities, and the Juicy Gems tournament.
Award recipient: ELGIN FORTUIN
Top Tangible Teacher – Chatbot Lessons
The Tangible WhatsApp Chatbot, offering weekly curriculum-aligned lessons, has been used by thousands of teachers across the country.
This year’s award winner is from Eshowe Primary School in KwaZulu-Natal, where she had a contract to teach Grade R. This inspired her to complete an additional certificate in Coding & Robotics, highlighting how our lessons are inspiring teachers.
Award recipient: KHETHOKUHLE BHENGU
Top Tangible Coding Club
For Tangible to make an impact in any country, strong partners within communities are vital. In addition to schools, these include libraries and various NPOs.
In Eldorado Park and surrounding areas, the Eldos Coding Club has been very active throughout the year — not only playing our coding games and Tangible Chess but also rolling out our CAPS-aligned lessons.
Over 2 000 learners were reached in regular interventions this year.
Award recipient: ALLEY MCPHERSON
Top Tangible Ambassador
Over the past few years, Tangible has relied heavily on the work of our Regional Coordinators across both urban and rural regions.
Around eThekwini, nearly 2 000 teachers from over 350 schools have been trained in unplugged coding across 27 districts. During Coding4Mandela 2025, over 20 000 participants came from this region, and teams from KZN have excelled in national and world cup coding events.
Award recipient: KRISH GOVENDER
Tangible World Cup Winners
One of Tangible’s standout annual initiatives is the Tangible Coding World Cup. This year once again brought outstanding achievements.
The Junior team, which took first place overall, was from Stanger Manor Primary in KwaDukuza, eLembe District, KwaZulu-Natal. Remarkably, the top Senior team — second place overall — was Stanger Manor Secondary.
Award recipients:
- MS SABASH GOVENDER (Stanger Manor Primary)
- DR MOGIE MOONSAMY, Tangible Coordinator from the eLembe District
Tangible EdTech Innovation Award
Innovation is a core value at Leva. The Juicy Gems–Dutoit–Checkers campaign in July was a highlight, allowing children to buy Dutoit apples from Checkers stores, scan a QR code, and download the “Secret Juicy Gems” app.
Over 3 000 learners across the country participated, with another 3 000 taking part in September using the same app.
Award recipients: DUTOIT AND THE 11&1 TEAM
Tangible EdTech Inclusivity Award
Inclusivity lies at the heart of Tangible’s mission. When we committed to ensuring that learners would not be excluded due to lack of resources — such as computer labs, electricity, or the internet — we acknowledged that the digital divide cannot be fixed if these barriers remain.
Our coding apps for visually impaired learners include 3D-printed challenges, braille tokens, and tactile grid mats. In partnership with SADTU, these tools were introduced to schools across the country. Partially sighted and blind learners now participate in tournaments alongside sighted learners.
Award recipient: BONA UBUNTU, represented by ROBYN FICK
Tangible EdTech Volunteer Award
Tonight, we recognise a team whose employees have contributed significantly over the past year. They stepped into coding clubs, hosted inspiring career Q&As with learners, joined the Mandela Day tournament, and helped pack coding kits that reached schools across South Africa. Their hands-on involvement has made a real, personal impact.
Award recipient: THE CAPITEC TEAM
Tangible EdTech Impact Award
This year’s Tangible EdTech Impact Award goes to a partner whose work in South Africa has transformed what is possible in digital education. From roadshows across six provinces to supporting our WhatsApp Chatbot, to launching the Think Big Space in Cape Town and connecting schools globally — this partner has shown how deep local impact and global participation can coexist.
Award recipient: AMAZON SOUTH AFRICA
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