Alexandra Lutz is a 19-year-old Stellenbosch University student and the founder of Milani Education, a free online learning platform helping over 800 South African learners with access to curriculum-aligned videos in Maths and English. She started Milani in 2020 at just 14 years old, during the Covid-19 lockdown, after seeing the deep inequalities in education.

Milani officially launched in 2023 and now has over 1,000 free videos created with the help of partner schools and a volunteer team known as the “Milani army.” Alexandra balances her studies in Data Science with running the organisation and hopes to expand Milani with more subjects, translations into local languages, and better access for low-data areas. She also plans to open a learning centre in a rural KZN community.

This year she was named one of South Africa’s 30 Young Mandelas of the Future for her innovative work in education. Alexandra says the award is an honour and hopes it inspires more young people to believe in their power to create change.