Vambo Academy the latest online African language learning platform

We have all at some point dabbled with learning another language or at the very least thought about it. For some, it may have been because they were in a country where English wasn’t spoken widely or at all. I remember my time in Univesity when I had to learn another language and beyond the classes we got, services like Duolingo and others were highly recommended. How useful they were depended on your learning style and I found that for African languages they weren’t always the best. Well, to fill that need there is a new online platform called Vambo Academy which aims to help you gain proficiency in a number of local and regional languages.

I was introduced to the service by a friend who sent me a thread by one of the people behind the platform.

And here is it 😭 after:
– Dealing with a bad developer
– Having to engage lawyers
– Losing money
– A 25+ month delay
– Starting from scratch with the best dev team ever
– Learning, Unlearning and Re-learning

— Chido (@chidostartsup) August 2, 2021

It looks like as with most business ventures the road to Vambo Academy’s birth was riddled with difficulties but all seems to have worked out well in the end, because the service is now online.

What do you get on Vambo Academy

Vambo has quite an extensive array of languages that are spoken in Zimbabwe and South Africa. The catalogue includes Shona, Ndebele, Zulu, Xhosa, Sepedi, Afrikaans, SeSotho, Tsonga and many more. You have the option of learning the language solo and at your own pace.

But before that, you’ll need to sign up, which is like how you would on any other web-based service (name, email, etc). If you don’t have an account confirmation e-mail in your inbox, check your spam folder. I found mine there.

Once you are set up you’ll get your own dashboard with your activities, notifications and courses. After that, you can pick a course/language and they come in the following packages:

Payment options include a Visa or Mastercard, if you are in South Africa you can use EFT or Masterpass. There is also an additional layer to the courses because you can book a one-on-one session with a Vambo Academy tutor. The tutor-assisted session is held over Zoom and there is a calendar where you can slot your individual lesson. One-on-one lessons cost R180 for a 45-minute session, there is also a group lesson option that is R140.00 with the group cap sitting at four students for the same duration.

You can check out Vambo Academy for yourself with the link here

Check out

• Bhala, an Android keyboard designed for African languages
• African language app Bhala is looking to be more than just a keyboard