Online Reporter
Gift Moyo, [email protected]
A recent National University of Science and Technology Zimbabwe (Nust) graduate, Courage Nyoni, has developed an educational and interactive Lobola Calculator app that has attracted international attention, even featuring on a Japanese television programme broadcast on Nippon TV.
What started off as a casual idea during the Covid-19 lockdown has grown into an unexpected success story. With movement restricted and time on his hands, Nyoni began teaching himself computer programming through YouTube tutorials, laying the foundation for what would become a globally recognised innovation.
From those self-taught skills, he went on to develop an Android application designed to educate users about the traditional African practice of lobola (bride price). The app, titled Lobola Calculator, combines cultural education with a digital tool that estimates lobola values based on various inputs.
The calculator takes into account factors such as the bride’s name, totem, country, rural or urban background, residential area, highest academic qualification, childhood breakfast habits, childhood undergarments, shoe size, sexual history, number of children, and lifestyle traits such as religiosity to generate a rough estimate of lobola expectations.
Since its launch in 2020, the app has recorded more than 17 600 downloads worldwide, with a significant portion of users coming from Europe, where interest in African cultural practices continues to grow.
“Looking at the success of this App now serves as an invaluable lesson in life that we can pretty much do anything as long as we put our mind and heart into something. Considering that I had little to no expertise in Android App development when this idea came through, but with a couple of sleepless nights and dedication I found my way through it. So I take that into every other avenue I find myself in and use it as motivation,” said Nyoni.
The App recently gained further international visibility after being featured on a Japanese television show broadcast on Nippon TV. During the programme, hosts discussed diverse marriage traditions across African cultures, using Nyoni’s Lobola Calculator as a reference point in the conversation.
