Student Hub is an educational e-learning and e-commerce service provider with an innovative technology solution platform where students can buy, sell or rent textbooks and access study tools.
Founded by Hertzy Kabeya in 2015, the company provides multiple services to students at educational institutions both in South Africa and in Africa.
In addition to being the company’s founder, Mr Kabeya is also the managing director and runs the company alongside the chief marketing officer, Imrah Gilwa.
The team at Student Hub wants to create a world where opportunities to access educational information are multiplied and where willingness to learn is a key attribute required in becoming an expert in any field.
The company is now extending its initial e-commerce platform by adding an e-learning component where students can access study support tools.
According to Mr Kabeya, the rapid pace of technological developments in the information age is creating a myriad opportunities to deliver information to users in networked economies and societies in a more affordable way.
“The delivery of learning information at tertiary educational institutions and the ease of learning the content shouldn’t come at premium prices. Our platform therefore provides innovative services, solutions and trade processes to facilitate the ease of the learning journey for students.
“We do this by helping with learning support. And in this way we are trying to make access to prescribed textbooks legal, easily accessible and affordable,” says Mr Kabeya.
In September 2015, Mr Kabeya pitched the Student Hub idea in the Education Technology challenge at Nedbank Stellenbosch University LaunchLab’s Ideas Programme Pitching Platform. It was one of nine winners and the company was subsequently awarded seed funding.
Student Hub has operations in Observatory, Cape Town, and in Nedbank Stellenbosch University LaunchLab. To learn more about Student Hub, visit their website at www.thestudenthub.co.za
The winners of the LaunchLab’s Lift-Off Programme, form part of an incubation programme for LaunchLab residents.
This programme is customised to the needs of the businesses and equips the founders with the skills and knowledge that they need to take their businesses to new heights.
These founders are matched with mentors and coaches with specific business expertise and who assist in accelerating them to a new level.
Aspiring and practicing entrepreneurs who want to be part of the LaunchLab are invited to pitch their business idea in this semester’s LaunchLab Ideas Programme.
For more information about the Ideas Programme Pitching Platform opportunities, go to www.launchlab.co.za/about/ ideas.
There is also an opportunity to pitch your media idea to Multi-Choice and win your share of R100 000 in seed funding or win a share of more than R150 000 in incubator support and services as part of one of the other vertical challenges.
* Innovus is the industry interaction and innovation company of Stellenbosch University (SU). Innovus is responsible for the protection and commercialisation of the university’s intellectual property portfolio through pat-enting and licensing and the formation of spin-out companies.
It also provides support and development for entrepreneurs and is responsible for the university’s Copyright and Short Courses Division as well as SU’s Football. For more information visit www. innovus.co.za
* LaunchLab is a network of University campus-based business incubators.
An initiative of Innovus, LaunchLab is a mixed-use business incubator that supports mainly technology and innovation businesses.
It seeks to add value to its residents and to differentiate itself from other business incubators through programmes designed to develop an ecosystem that accelerates entrepreneurs and businesses to a new level.
For more information visit www.launchlab.co.za or call 021 808 9494, 021 808 3826, or 082 553 0823.
