UKZN alumnus launches online learning academy to inspire youth

A UKZN alumnus has launched an online learning academy known as Lokshin Online Learning Academy (LOLA).

According to the creator of the academy, Samkelo Magoqo, the motivation for it came from study challenges he encountered during his BCom degree which he completed in 2014 with majors in Supply Chain Management and Economics.

“Lacking self-confidence contributes to failure even if you have adequately covered the prescribed content for your exams – confidence is key and I had to learn this the hard way. If students don’t address and correct this lack of confidence early, it can be their downfall as young professionals when they enter the ‘real world’,” said Magoqo.

He said a love for online learning began in his first year at UKZN when he started using the computer LAN facilities.

“When I came into contact with the internet I didn’t have a good understanding of the power this tool actually has. I started using YouTube for my maths tutorials and later used it for economics and finance supplementary tutorials. I was fascinated by the amount of information available online,” he said.

Magoqo said at the forefront of his motivation to start an online learning academy was also the realisation of how much valuable information he was gaining at UKZN as a student in the College of Law and Management Studies.

“I was learning about different aspects of commerce and trade and I wanted to share this knowledge with people back home who weren’t lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to university but nevertheless wanted to better their lives economically and socially, as well improve personal finances and be more aware of their consumer rights in the context of everyday life. I started researching about online education and the best ways to share this knowledge, investigating what platforms, tools and channels I could use to distribute this content. I also examined various business models that could be viable for this project,” said Magoqo.

He started by creating a free course on how to register a private company in South Africa and also created a video on YouTube which showed people how to buy shares using an online share trading account. This video proved to be popular and has more than 6 000 views on YouTube.

He currently ranks on the first page of YouTube for keyword searches such as ‘How to register a company’, ‘How to buy shares’ and ‘Company registrations’.

“With this online learning academy, I aim to inspire the youth of South Africa, especially those who come from the townships and rural areas of South Africa. It is not by mistake that I named it Lokshin Online Learning Academy (LOLA for short). I deliberately wanted people to be proud of themselves and where they come from. I was born and bred in the township and occasionally visited my grandparents and siblings in rural areas. I know how tough life can be for young black people growing up in these areas. So I took it upon myself to be the change I want to see in the township economy and be a positive example,” he said.

If people are interested in engaging with his work and accessing the free content, they can sign up for the free introduction to an online share trading course.

“Once you sign up you will gain access to five video tutorials that will show you how to invest in shares. This will also enable you to get email notifications when I publish new content on the different content sharing channels I use,” said Magoqo.