Innovator Mokete Ratlabala Takes a Spot at the 13th Gap Awards

While attending Mopani South East TVET College to study electrical engineering in 2018, Mokete Ratlabala came to the realisation that most industries use power inefficiently, which causes it to be lost.

He therefore developed the Learn Base PTY (LTD) after wondering whether there wasn’t a solution to tackle this issue. Learn Base is technology that could extract electrical information from devices.

Ratlabala stated, “I then discovered a Red Bull boot camp opportunity called the Red Bull Basement and I applied for it.”

A two-month boot camp program called The Red Bull Basement enables student innovators to launch their ideas and use technology to promote change. The goal is to engage and motivate every student to positively influence the world and challenge the status quo in a constructive way.

Ratlabala’s goal was to create  technology that could control electricity and reduce power usage by using electrical data from devices.

He claims that having proof of his idea at the conclusion of the Red Bull Basement boot camp helped him get accepted into the mLab StartUp Program in late 2019.

After that, Ratlabala received the Allan Grey Makers Award, and Learn Base Pty (LTD) was established. These awards shine a spotlight on African Artisan Makers to encourage more young people to join the technical and vocational trades to create meaningful employment opportunities in their communities.

Ratlabala’s company secured a cash injection of R100, 000 in the Innovation Phase category which was to used develop his business.  Ratlabala put up effort, went for it, and found the chance. He knocked on a lot of doors since he was motivated to launch his firm.

“I approached a couple of organisations, including mLab and TIA, because I was looking for resources to develop this product,” he stated.

The Technology Innovation Agency is known as TIA.

Because of all the work he did, he was able to obtain some funds to both pilot test and develop his prototype into a commercially viable product.  According to him, mLab offers assistance by developing a mobile application for the project and granting me access to their office resources.

Ratlabala plans to start pilot testing his product this year and continue until the end of 2024, which is five years later.

Editor’s note: Ratlabala’s goal was to create a technology that could control electricity and reduce power usage by using electrical data from devices.

Description: A young engineer created  technology that could extract electrical information from devices. He has be hailed as an innovator for this technology.

Editor: Thato Mahlangu

Project manager: Do4SA