By Mzukona Mantshontsho
COMPUTERS 4 KIDS provides exciting localised digital content to South African schools as well as teacher training and support.
It’s important to develop an understanding of the skills required in artistic expression projects, causes to empower our communities and business and to change the mind-sets of residents, particularly the unemployed youth. It’s important to encourage the youth through examples to aspire and pursue their own paths, to further developing their own skills to earn a living, be better citizens and FUTURE Leaders!
I recently spoke to Co-Founder at Computers 4 Kids Russell Pengelly about his personal, professional and entrepreneurial journey 30 years down the line.
Tell us about your early life to your role today
I am from Cape Town but went to school in the Eastern Cape (Dale College) and then on to Port Elizabeth Teacher’s College and UPE where I qualified as a Special Needs teacher.
What does your role mean to you?
My management style is one of inclusivity, sharing of responsibilities and surrounding myself with people who have the knowledge and experience which adds to the power and strength of our 30-year-old company.
What are the most critical resources for your successful leadership?
Enthusiasm, interest and dedication from team members makes my job easier and creates a successful business.
What can we expect from you going forward since you started?
My wife (Elizabeth) and I started Computers 4 Kids exactly 30 years ago offering after school classes at our small offices in Tokai, Cape Town. Since then, we started moving into the schools directly, creating content for neighbouring countries and to date have trained in excess of 6 million students and 50, 000 teachers! Going forward we are integrating AI into our lessons and see a huge opportunity to make an impact with our coding and robotics content.
What are your words of advice for young people, particularly women to take that first step and start community projects or small businesses?
Passion, dedication, integrity, energy (it is hard work!) and interest in what you want to achieve.
Thoughts on Covid-19 in terms of small businesses, what measures should business owners take to protect their businesses if another pandemic were to hit?
Covid taught us many things and one of them was not being prepared! From an IT perspective we have learnt that you can work online and remotely and this is the core of our Licensee Training Centre model where you can sit in any room, locally or across our borders and offer digital skill training to anybody.
What is the legacy that you would want to leave when you retire?
Hopefully this ‘retirement’ will be coming soon as it is time to hand over the business to the younger generation who are tech savvy and can see the amazing opportunities that lie ahead. I can already see what impact we have done with many communities and individuals in our country so I know that that legacy will outlive me and Computers 4 Kids and I am so proud, humbled and honoured to have been able to make these social impacts in our amazing country that I love.
How does your work DIRECTLY contribute to the community?
Job creation, social upliftment and creating digital citizens within local communities.
What have been your highs and lows of your career?
Highs = the number of individuals we have had an impact on, working from home while we were with our young children, winning SMME of the Year and traveling the world promoting Computers 4 Kids. The lows would be the lack of funding to make a bigger impact.
When you not at work, what do you get up to, and where can people follow the program online?
We love camping and have done many road trips across our country and neighbouring countries in the last 2 years. Find us: @c4kofficial
