Startup Zaio gives you the coding skills to help find work

A new South African app on the market is teaching its users how to code - for free.

Zaio was founded by 21-year-old Mvelo Hlophe, who is a final-year BCom Politics, Philosophy and Economics student at UCT, and his friend, Thandolwethu Hlongwane.

Hlophe originally came up with the idea, and then approached Hlongwane, who was looking for a developer internship, but couldn't find one. The pair now run the platform with the help of fellow UCT students.

Zaio is a free online learning platform that teaches people to code and become developers themselves. The name comes from the word "Okuzayo", which means future in Nguni.

How it works:

Once registered on the platform, students go through four levels of training: from an introduction to the various elements of coding and web development, to practical tasks where they get to work on real-life projects at South African companies.

They are paid to work on these projects.

In recent months, Zaio participants worked on projects for Sanlam, the World Bank and Standard Bank. As a result, 56 users, including a petrol attendant from Stellenbosch, were placed in part-time developer jobs.

"This is perfect for people looking for employment as well as those looking to upskill themselves and become software developers," says Hlophe.

Read more here.

Join us in Miami Beach, June 5-7 for the Global Online Marketplaces Summit.