Invest · Project 02
Flow Connect & EduPod: learning that reaches the child
A community learning hub plus one connected platform, so a child’s postcode never defines their future.
- Stage
- Concept and design
- App
- Working software
- Investment
- From one learner to a whole site
Fund a learner kit, a classroom or a complete EduPod. Flow’s strategy sets no prices yet; each package is costed for its site.
The need
Why this matters
Across South Africa, geography, school capacity, connectivity and affordability still decide who gets to learn. Four barriers reinforce one another: too few school places in growing communities, costly or unsafe travel, unaffordable data, and too little adult support for learning outside the classroom.
What we’ve done: Flow Connect has been designed as one platform with learner, educator, parent, facilitator and partner views, from early childhood through Grade 12. The insight behind it: qualified educators and facilitators already live in these communities and need meaningful work. One connected model can close both gaps. Children learn, communities earn.
The Flow Connect app
The software already works. We’re putting Flow’s name on it.
Flow Connect doesn’t start from a blank page. It runs on an existing, working learning-and-rewards software package owned by Social Wiiv, white-labelled for Flow. Learners revise curriculum-aligned lessons on their phones or EduPod devices, earn points for verified progress, and swap those points for rewards: in Phase 1, data and airtime only, with no cash-out, no transfers and no stored value. Parents and partners see the progress.
- Aug 2016
- The software first went live with learners in Soweto. Source: Social Wiiv platform proposal, Feb 2017
- 12,500+
- Users registered in its first six months (to Feb 2017). Source: Social Wiiv platform proposal, Feb 2017
- Grades 8–12
- CAPS-aligned Maths and Maths Literacy revision already built in. Source: Social Wiiv platform proposal, Feb 2017
Concept screens: Flow Connect’s mobile look on the existing software. The learner, points, rewards and figures shown on the screens are illustrative.
Already built
Daily CAPS-aligned revision, a lesson archive for exam prep, life-skills content, a points-and-rewards engine and a reporting back end.
Built for phones
A mobile web app, not a download: it opens in the browser of any internet-enabled phone, and on the tablets and screens inside an EduPod.
What funding adds
Flow’s branding, learner profiles from early childhood to Grade 12, EduPod attendance checks and partner dashboards. Scoped with you.
Sponsor the platform
Put your brand where learners spend their study time
Sponsors are named on the screens they fund, and see verified reach and progress in their dashboard. Slots are open; packages are scoped with you.
Disclosure: the software belongs to Social Wiiv. The software package behind Flow Connect, and its intellectual property, is owned by Social Wiiv, a South African software company founded in 2012. Flow Foundation does not own it. Flow Connect is Flow’s name and look on Social Wiiv’s software, white-labelled for Flow.
The launch date, user numbers and content listed above describe the software before it carried the Flow Connect name. Flow Connect itself has not yet launched with learners.
A lesson at the pod · planned model
One teacher, many pods, every child in their own language
An EduPod runs like a normal classroom, just closer to home. A local teacher prepares the lesson at home, in their own home language, and it streams to many pods at the same time. In each pod it plays on the big TV like a regular lesson, and learners follow along with real resources or the pod’s tablets.
Free Wi-Fi
Every pod has its own Wi-Fi, free for learners and teachers. No one needs to buy data to learn.
Prepared at home, in their own language
A qualified local teacher plans the lesson at home and teaches it in their home language, and is paid for verified work.
Streamed to many pods at once
One lesson reaches many pods at the same time, so one good teacher can teach many more children.
Played on the TV, like a normal lesson
Learners watch on the pod’s big screen, like a class with the teacher in front of them. A facilitator in the pod keeps everyone on track.
Follow along with real resources
Learners work through the lesson in printed workbooks and with hands-on materials, or on the pod’s tablets.
Tablets stay locked in and charged
Tablets never go home. They’re locked in a charging cabinet inside the pod overnight, ready for the next day.
This is how EduPods are designed to work. No pod has been built yet; equipment, languages and timetables are confirmed for each site.
Community educators
Teach from home. Support learners across several pods.
Qualified teachers can prepare and present lessons from a simple home studio with a green screen. Their mobile view shows verified work, earnings, learners reached, pods supported and children who need follow-up.
Illustrative teacher view. Final payments, measures and permissions will be agreed before launch.
Wellbi will support beneficiary records and child-development evidence.
Wellbi will be used for beneficiary profiles, attendance, assessment checks, intervention notes and development tracking. Flow Connect will use the agreed data to give teachers and programme teams a clear view of progress, with role-based access and consent controls.
The project
What we’ll deliver
- 01EduPod: a secure, solar-powered learning space near home, with free Wi-Fi, a TV for streamed lessons, tablets locked in to charge overnight, approved content and trained facilitators
- 02Flow Connect: one learner profile that carries learning, progress and support from ECD to Grade 12, so the child never starts again
- 03Community network: local educators teach, facilitators guide attendance, parents see progress, community jobbers earn through verified work
- 04Rewards: completed lessons, tasks and verified attendance earn points that swap for data and airtime in Phase 1 (no cash-out, transfers or stored value)
- 05Impact reporting: partners see access, participation, progress and delivery, linked to the funding they approved
The Flow model
One education system, four connected layers
- 01
EduPod
A safe, connected learning space close to home
- 02
Flow Connect
One learner profile across every stage of learning
- 03
Community network
Educators, parents and facilitators, each with a clear role
- 04
Impact engine
Verified progress, rewards and reporting
Each layer removes a different barrier and turns participation into measurable progress. People + places + technology = opportunity.
Concept illustrations and renders, plus one screen from the 2023 platform prototype. No pod has been built yet; designs may change.
Roadmap
From commitment to impact
- 01
Decide
Choose the community, the site and the impact to fund
- 02
Deliver
Install the EduPod, connect devices, onboard educators
- 03
Prove
Report access, participation and progress
- 04
Grow
Connect the next community
Investment
Where the money goes
The equipped 40 ft and 20 ft container pair includes TVs, tables and chairs. Tablets, portable outdoor screens, Flow Connect and Wi-Fi remain separate funding opportunities.
- Equipped container pair40 ft classroom plus 20 ft support container: scoped with you, costed per site
- Tablets50 for the 40 ft container and 30 for the 20 ft container: scoped with you
- Portable outdoor screenOptional; scoped with you
- Technology partnersFlow Connect, Wi-Fi and ongoing connectivity are scoped separately
Partner roles
How each partner makes it happen
Companies
Fund EduPods, connectivity, devices, content, educator development or local jobs. Mobile, energy, banking, savings, FMCG and retail brands travel the learning journey with families.
Government
Align content with the curriculum, agree data-free access, and use aggregated progress data to spot learners who need help early.
Municipalities
Help secure safe sites, coordinate local delivery, and register local educators and facilitators for verified work.
Get involved
Learning should follow the child, so no one has to start again.
Flow Foundation is a volunteer-run South African non-profit building the foundations children and young people need, from the first classroom to the first job. Here are three ways to help this project move forward.