Glenn Stein, 28, wants to use digital literacy to break down barriers like language, access to education, and healthcare.

It all started with Stein’s innovation, Aweza, a multilingual translation app built to break down communication barriers between South Africans. Launched in 2014, and celebrated as the first of its kind in SA, Aweza utilised crowdsourcing to collect the correct pronunciations of common phrases in all 11 official languages.

While his self-funded app didn’t get the financial backing it needed to operate at full potential, it was awarded the prestigious Netexplo Award in Paris in 2016. The award recognises the most original and significant new uses of digital tech.

Aweza’s potential to build digital literacy in education and healthcare is still a vision that Stein plans to pursue in the near future. But for now, he’s using Aweza for a new venture. He’s now a partner at Fast Academy, an e-learning platform that will assist post-matriculants who underperformed, due to a lack of school resources.

While the project is still in its pilot phase, Stein sees every project and application as a step in the right direction.

His immediate goals may have changed but his dream remains the same – a better world through digital literacy.

|Don’t ever underestimate how little you know, how inexperienced you are. Know your weaknesses. Don’t overestimate yourself.|

Categories: Innovators