In South Africa, offline apps produced measurable gains in matric pass rates in underperforming provinces, demonstrating that offline, curriculum-aligned solutions can be highly effective. Although there have been significant technological advancements in education in South Africa, many regions lack reliable ICT Infrastructure and internet access. Products designed to operate offline, sync opportunistically, and use lightweight multimedia to deliver lessons are becoming essential. The Offline-first approach addresses equity, reduces reliance on expensive cloud compute costs, and sidesteps some data-protection issues. This article presents the case for more offline-first edtech solutions in South Africa.

Although internet access is relatively high at a national level, access is highly fragmented provincially. Households in the Western Cape (92%), Gauteng (86%), KwaZulu-Natal (84.2%) and Mpumalanga (80.2%) boast the highest overall internet access rates, while the Eastern Cape (70.7%) and Northern Cape (70.3%) have the lowest internet access rates.

Although households have the opportunity to access the internet through various means, such as at school or public WiFi, the proportion of households that have fixed internet access at home is low: the Western Cape (44.9%) and Gauteng (25.8%) are the only provinces where more than 1/4 of households have fixed internet access at home.

As illustrated in the table below, the majority of households access the internet through mobile phones. Furthermore, only 11.3% of households in rural areas own computers. Therefore, low-data or offline-enabled edtech solutions must be optimised for mobile phones in South Africa.

Without physical internet access, even high-quality EdTech platforms cannot be effectively utilised. Students without reliable internet and edtech access will struggle to improve their digital literacy skills in South Africa. This means that learners will not know how to use essential technologies such as computers and software programs in the future. This will affect their academic performance and cause them to fall behind their peers who have reliable internet access.

Students without reliable internet access also struggle to access online content, hampering their ability to self-study at home after school. Less than half of households can reliably access the internet. This means that even if students have internet access in their schools, they will not be able to use edtech solutions at home due to no connectivity.

Edukite is a South African EdTech company that builds interactive, curriculum‑aligned digital learning solutions aimed at improving classroom teaching and student outcomes. Its flagship offering is the Edukite Learning App and software suite, which uses 2D/3D animated lessons, interactive simulations, solved exam papers, practice tests and progress analytics to make learning more engaging and effective — especially in subjects that are traditionally difficult to master like Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Geography.

Edulution is a blended learning social enterprise that combines adaptive digital learning technology with trained local human support to help learners in under‑resourced schools catch up and improve foundational literacy and numeracy skills. Its model integrates offline‑capable adaptive learning software (such as Ei Mindspark) with classroom facilitation by trained learning assistants alongside teachers, making quality education accessible even where there is no reliable internet or electricity.

Snapplify is an established education technology company that provides digital learning solutions to schools, universities, governments and individual learners. It operates one of Africa’s largest digital education platforms — combining ebooks, an expansive digital library, e‑learning tools, analytics, and integrated school administration features that support both online and offline learning. Snapplify’s solutions aim to simplify access to educational content, support effective teaching practices, and make learning available anytime, anywhere.

Expanded access to underserved learners:

A low-data, offline-enabled edtech solution significantly expands access to education for learners in low-connectivity areas. Many students in South Africa rely on unstable mobile networks, shared devices, or limited data budgets, which often restrict their ability to participate in digital learning. By enabling offline access, edtech platforms remove connectivity as a prerequisite for learning, allowing more learners to engage with educational content regardless of their location or internet reliability.

Reduced cost barriers for learners and institutions:

Data costs remain a major barrier to digital education adoption. Low-data edtech solutions minimise the amount of mobile data required, making learning more affordable for students and parents. For schools, NGOs, and training providers, offline functionality reduces the need for costly infrastructure upgrades, enabling institutions to deploy digital learning tools without incurring significant additional expenses.

Improved learning continuity and consistency:

Offline-enabled platforms ensure that learning is not disrupted by network outages, load shedding, or depleted data bundles. Learners can download content once and continue studying at their own pace without needing constant connectivity. This reliability supports consistent engagement, encourages self-directed learning, and helps learners maintain progress even in challenging infrastructure environments.