Hoërskool Secunda learners win competition with app for mental health
Their app is called Safespace and their idea is not only to help people suffering from depression, but also to educate others on depression as the app advances and grows.
SECUNDA – Nolwazi Sindane and Nonjabulo Zikhali, two Grade 11 girls of Hoërskool Secunda, showcased a business plan to develop their own app and now have the chance to get the app up and running.
They took part in the 2019 Step Up 2 A Start Up competition that their teacher in business studies, Ms Esteé Odendaal, introduced to them. They won the competition.
Ms Odendal, Nolwazi and Nonjabulo attended the awards ceremony, the National Youth Awards evening, in December where they were crowned as the winners.
The competition entailed that learners had to come up with an idea for an app, include a business plan, and they had to attend a bootcamp. The first phase of the competition was for all the learners to watch a movie about a young entrepreneur.
After seeing one of their friends suffer from depression, anxiety and social isolation and them not sure how to handle it, the two friends decided to develop an app about mental health.
Their app is called Safespace and their idea is not only to help people suffering from depression, but also to educate others on depression as the app advances and grows.
“We thought an app for mental health would be a good idea, especially because young people are often too ashamed to seek help and do not necessarily want their parents to know,” said Nonjabulo.
“Users of the app will be able to watch video’s on mental health, chat with someone if they want professional help, and we will make professionals such as psychologists available.”
“Since all teenagers are constantly on their phones, now they can get help at the tips of their fingers,” said Nolwazi. We will begin working on the app now and get Seda involved when we turn 18,” said Nolwazi who is keen to get the app up and running as soon as possible.
The girls have already done market research and found out how much it would cost them to get the app live. Part of their prize was that the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) will give them an opportunity to have a much more refined idea, a stronger business case, knowledge and experience to work with and to be guided through the process of setting up a business.
However, the two girls must wiat until they are 18 before most of the companies that sponsored prizes can help them further. The two learners attended a four-day bootcamp about entrepreneurship in Johannesburg before they were crowned as the winners. They said they learnt many things at the bootcamp.
“It was an experience that nobody can take away from us,” said Nolwazi.
She believes business in the real world and business in books are two different things.
“In the real world you can do networking, which we cannot always do while we are in school. Entrepreneurship is an important topic in the real business world of today.”
Ms Odendaal also took a lot of knowledge home after the bootcamp. Businessmen addressed the learners and teachers at the bootcamp and Ms Odendaal said it was an amazing experience.
She gave all her Grade 10 and 11 learners a chance to enter the competition.
“Both Nolwazi and Nonjabulo are academically strong and I mostly guided them while they did all the work on their own,” said Ms Odendaal.
These two learners have big plans for their futures. Nolwazi wants to become a paediatrician and Nonjabulo said she will probably work in the corporate world in business or finance.
Nolwazi played hockey and did athletics last year, but this year her sports will have to be replaced with attending extra classes. She also enjoys taking part in the school’s ‘radikale redenaars’ competition.
Nonjabulo enjoys culture more and likes to read in her free time and to take part in public speaking.
