Takudzwa Nhongo did something back in 2017 that inspires mixed responses from people. He sat for a hulking 18 subjects for O level and achieved 16 As and 2 Bs. Many in the discourse about his efforts then questioned what the point of such was. Today, Takudzwa has one answer that may put their minds at ease. Kytte. Now 22 Takudzwa has launched Kytte, an application designed to help students with the study material in their chosen subject area. The app is brilliant and has a few tricks that I found impressive.

Background

The app has been in development for some time. From the idea stage, Taku says he’s been working since 2015 when he was in form 3. What bothered him was the lack of good study material and accessibility to it. Textbooks cost an arm and a leg and digital resources are not quite there. Where digital resources have been developed they have not quite been developed for  Generation Z (born between 2000 and 2010) minds yet they are the users. The road was long and part of it was sitting for those 18 subjects. He says he did so to find the best study techniques across multiple subjects.

Development

After achieving flying colours in his O level exams he set out to make the app a reality. The journey was not straightforward. The biggest challenges aside from learning to develop apps came in the form of the content. The biggest hurdles he cites were getting content and funding the content to be created for the app. The business here is content and that is what customers come for, if you don’t have adequate quantity or quality of content you lose the plot. Taku had to find workarounds to get content on the app and they are still dealing with this to get more content on the app.

Kytte

Kytte is an interactive app that provides small bite-sized lessons and practise tests for O level subjects using the Zimsec syllabus. Remember the comment earlier about digital platforms created for Generation Z? Breaking down the lessons into small components better suits the reported shorter attention spans of the current crop of youngsters. The name is derived from a play on the word kite. The idea being the app helps students fly high like kites. It offers a free trial and I was able to get a taste and feel of the app (screenshots included) and I was impressed.

Smart app

The application is smart in more ways than one. Firstly, all content is included in the app download so it does not require a constant connection to the internet to work. Connect once to get your content and you’re good to go. Secondly, the app has a neat trick that works through an algorithm. When students take assessment tests and struggle in areas the algorithm identifies these problem areas and brings them up more often in future assessments and content. The app provides amazing value.

They currently have 6 subjects available on the app being Biology, Economics, Heritage Studies, Computer Science, Combined Science and Commerce. Students can subscribe to these subjects for as little as ZWL$300 per month with subjects going up to as much as ZWL$500 per subject. They are currently offering an all-access subscription for ZWL$1300 per month (for all 6 subjects). As said earlier they are working on getting more subjects and content uploaded on the app and ready to go.

Taku is young by any measure and to achieve so much at a young age is remarkable in itself. He sees his age as an advantage because of the people he is trying to serve. He is closer to the age group and understands them very well. He very recently walked in their shoes, with fresh memories and experiences of what it takes to achieve well in the subjects they sit for. Youth also provides a fresh look at things. Generation Z loves their mobile applications and will shy away from some things because they are not available as apps.

Take some time out to go to the Kytte website and download their Android app. Take advantage of the free trial to see just how good the app is whether it’s for you or someone else. The goal is to expand Kytte further to house more syllabi such as Hexco, Cambridge and more. You can find Kytte on Facebook for more updates. You can also get in touch with Taku on dms@kytte.io.