Bonginkosi Mabaso

Bonginkosi Mabaso is the Founder and CEO of Ann-Connect, a South African edtech company building offline-first, AI-powered examination and invigilation tools for learners in low-connectivity and rural environments. With over five years of experience in education technology, youth innovation, and startup leadership, Bonginkosi is driven by a deep commitment to equity in education. He holds a BA Honours in Psychology from the University of South Africa and has completed certifications in SMME Management, Business Finance, Banking and Risk, and Supply Chain Management.

Under his leadership, Ann-Connect has secured pilot partnerships with major institutions such as UNISA and TUT, and has successfully raised innovation funding from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA). Bonginkosi was instrumental in securing over R930,000 in early-stage funding to scale the platform and continues to lead on strategy, partnerships, and capital growth. He is a recipient of the prestigious Leaders in Innovation Fellowship (LIF Global) from the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK), a START Global Fellow (Switzerland), and was named one of South Africa’s Emerging30 Entrepreneurs. His work is focused on building scalable, inclusive digital infrastructure for education with a vision to create one of Africa’s next unicorns by solving real challenges in connectivity and learning access.