Leopold’s story on… building hope from classroom struggles to educational innovation

Growing up in Malawi where Leopold's parents served as missionaries, their example of service and community upliftment planted the seed in him to dedicate his own life to a significant cause too.  Eventually, he found his purpose in the field of education. Upon earning his Bachelor of Education degree from Stellenbosch University, Leopold began his teaching career at a school grappling with severe dysfunction, attributed to a complex array of internal and external factors. He soon realized he was in an exceptionally challenging environment, evident in the dramatic teacher turnover. Just two months into the job, his colleagues were surprised he hadn’t left, having seen many new teachers quit after day one. He continues to be inspired by the veteran teachers who have learnt to navigate the intense pressures and demanding conditions that define so many South African schools like this one.

“Yes, you might hear things that are shocking, but actually experiencing them goes far beyond what you can imagine. Statistics can be alarming, but facing the reality firsthand is something else entirely: the frustration, the exhaustion, and the overwhelming stress among teachers who desperately want to help their students, yet struggle themselves to survive in such a challenging environment.”

At his next placement, a rural school serving many students from local farms, he stepped into an environment marked by complacency and a lack of ambition. The emphasis was merely on moving children through the system rather than striving for excellence. In classrooms with up to 67 students, he was exposed to further dark realities of the state of teaching environments for both educator and learner.  Following this, Leopold took a teaching position at a school on the opposite end of the educational spectrum - a prestigious institution where the realities were starkly different. His new workplace fostered an enabled, high-performing culture, quite the contrast from his former environments where the priority was simply survival.

"The underlying principle was evident: success breeds success. The supportive environment brought a deep satisfaction, allowing teachers to achieve significantly more. They weren't exhausted by the last lesson, able to dedicate more hours to both academics and extracurricular activities."

He went on to complete his Honours in Education Management, believing he was preparing for a career as a principal. Unbeknownst to him, destiny had other plans, leading him to step into the shoes of a founder instead.  Many dinner conversations with his wife, Silke, a development economist well-versed in research in education, eventually led Leopold to confront the undeniable truth. Their complementary skills and experiences uniquely positioned them to spearhead a vital intervention.

Though Leopold first attempted to tackle the challenge part-time, it soon became clear that a full-time commitment was necessary, prompting his bold decision to dive in completely. Their goal was to provide video learning content to aid students' educational journeys. However, they couldn't have predicted that COVID-19's imminent arrival would render their idea far more relevant and crucial than they ever envisioned. 

With Leopold creating the content, a fortunate introduction to a skilled videographer finally enabled him to transform his educational vision into engaging videos. Thuma Mina Teaching, enriching teaching and learning through captivating video-lessons and materials, come to life.

“This was all built on a central assumption that if this worked and really showed potential to shift the needle in quality education, then funds would come.  We were just going to focus on making something excellent.”

Burning through their bootstrapped runway, with some fortune on their side, someone from the Educational Department had come across their content.  Having seen the value, they approached Capitec to sponsor the development of EMS (Economic Management Sciences) video content.  Their M&E (Monitoring and Evaluation) research yielded impressive results, showing a 10-12% improvement in students who engaged with the videos. This success solidified Capitec's support, not only through funding but later on by prompting a crucial pivot to include teacher training - a move that would fundamentally reshape the business.

“Going back to the start, it was always about helping teachers in the challenging contexts they find themselves in. To positively impact this problematic sector in which they operate. As a business, we're in the challenging position of selling impact, which is often far tougher than selling a straightforward commercial solution.”

From day one, they developed a keen sense of financial discipline, efficient workflows, and a deep appreciation for every resource invested. These foundational lessons shape their operations to this day, ensuring that funders are reciprocated with the respect earned in their transparency, accountability, and commitment to building lasting value. Now part of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship Programme, they continue to encounter supporters championing their cause. Having personally walked the journey and stood in the very shoes of those he aims to help, Leopold has built purpose deep into the foundations of Thuma Mina Teaching.

"It's devastating to see jeopardized futures, but then you witness improvement, those little glimmers of hope. I simply couldn't ignore the injustice; doing nothing would have left me utterly unfulfilled. For me, the scariest thing is being comfortable yet insignificant, knowing you had the chance to make a difference but didn't."

Leopold is determined to continue to shift that needle, at scale, and without ever risking the integrity of the business and its vision: to lay the foundation for a game-changing learning journey, one that builds confidence in the classroom and opens doors beyond it, because when learners thrive, the education needle moves towards a more employable and empowered generation. The journey to get here has been a collective effort, led by founders Leopold and Silke and backed all the way with friends, family, early sponsors and subsequent funders.  Now a brand people recognise and trust, Thuma Mina Teaching is poised to transform countless more lives across South Africa.

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