Correctbook has come home to Africa. While you may know Correctbook as a Netherlands-based initiative, the Correctbook story began in Africa ten years ago. To understand the significance of this homecoming, we first need to understand how (and why) it all began.
Face it: everyone loves a good origin story, especially when it involves a hero. So, let’s take you back to one night in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2014, when the first seeds of doing good were planted.
It was while leaving a small restaurant in a since-forgotten suburb that the first line in Correctbook’s history was written. It was at this moment when the then-20-year-old Sam van Tol first experienced receiving gratitude for a simple act of kindness directed towards someone less fortunate than himself.
During this simple interaction of sharing his food with a stranger, an informal car guard (unemployed people who make a living by guarding cars on streets at night), Sam realised that his purpose in life was to do good. He felt for the first time how good it is to give back to those in need. The way for him to achieve this purpose was to create a business that would be used as a force for good.
To this day, Correctbook’s underlying mission remains simply to do good things.
After that interaction on a Cape Town street, Sam began to set the ball in motion. He changed his business degree majoring in accounting to a major in entrepreneurship and began hunting for the way that he could make the biggest impact.
This is what makes Correctbook particularly special. While you might find notebooks out there that have an environmental impact through their sustainability. Correctbook does not only have an environmental impact, but it has a social impact that was at the root of it all.
While the environmental impact and benefits of erasable Correctbook are well-known throughout Europe, the social impact of Correctbook is writing a story that can never be wiped away.
True to Sam’s dream, for every Correctbook sold, a child is supplied with three months’ worth of writing materials, which is changing the lives and minds of children throughout Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa.
“I started looking for an area where I could make a positive impact. Something that is not commonly addressed by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). As I was looking into the education sector, I realised that many children do not have resources and materials for writing,” Sam explained.
“I wanted to find a way to make a book that was not digital, or that was very expensive, and that would last for a long time,” Sam recalls, “and as I continued my research, I found a way to develop a notebook that could be reused.” And like the hero of sustainability, Correctbook was born.
“These days, we are offering writing as a service to children in Africa,” Sam goes on to explain, “basically instead of donating one Correctbook for every book sold in the shops or online, we are donating a time-frame of writing to children. This means that every year, we return to the schools to donate new pens, replace damaged books, donate more new books, and donate the refilling stations. This way, we are offering continuous writing for all the school children.”
Inspired by his father’s business acumen and his mother’s philanthropy, Sam began to explore how this revolutionary new notebook could be financially sustainable while impacting the world around him.
Starting with what he knew, Sam worked from a small shed in the back of his parents’ property while further learning how to bring about the maximum impact of Correctbook through his studies with his master’s degree in entrepreneurship. He began selling and packing Correctbook notebooks for the Netherlands market. All the while, the proceeds from the Correctbook sales were being used to supply schools in Central America and rural areas in Africa with this new reusable writing phenomenon.
And just like that, in his quest for good, he had become the Founder and Chief Writing Officer of a company that was pioneering a way for environmental and social sustainability.
Fast-forward ten years. Correctbook has been the recipient of many awards for its innovation and practicality. Everything has grown. The vision and mission have expanded. It has made significant strides in the battle against illiteracy in Africa. The Correctbook Europe team has grown and far exceeded a small shed and now is based in an office in the vibrant Rotterdam. Correctbook notebooks are well on their way to becoming a major force in reusable notebooks and sustainable writing technology in Europe and throughout the globe. The innovation continues to grow with new designs and more sustainable practices.
But, most importantly to our story today, the concept conceived in South Africa has taken root and grown branches that span the African continent, empowering children to excel in their education thanks to a sustainable answer to limited resources.
Samuel Mbuto, the Nairobi-based Africa Regional Manager of Correctbook Africa, has had front-row seats to witness Correctbook’s growth on the continent and its extensive impact on the lives of children.
From his first encounter with the Correctbook, Samuel immediately saw the potential of this new type of notebook. “When I saw the Correctbook for the first time, I knew it would be a game-changer here in Kenya, especially for children,” exclaimed Samuel.
For children in Kenya with limited access to writing materials and resources, Samuel sees the power of Correctbook as a supplementary tool to help children grow in knowledge.
Public schools in Kenya have limited resources. Once you have filled up your workbook, it needs to be presented to the subject teacher. The teacher then signs it off allowing you to collect a new book from the store. Mistakes, scribbles, practice notes, and torn pages in these notebooks are seen as waste of a precious resource, and children often face punishment if they have been seen to waste pages.
Samuel believes that “the biggest challenge children have had before Correctbook was that they did not have the resources to practice what they are learning in class. Having a tool like the Correctbook where children can take notes of what the teacher is saying in class. They can even write down their thoughts and ideas while exploring the concepts taught by the teacher without fear of wasting pages. This has resulted in the children becoming more engaged in class and increasing their concentration.”
Samuel explained that “the more the children have the chance to write, the more they get the concept, and the better they can understand their schoolwork.”
Aside from the continued impact on the lives of schoolchildren, Correctbook’s production and distribution in Africa have had a noticeable impact on local job creation.
The youngest member of the Correctbook team in South Africa, 23-year-old account manager and public officer Siyabonga Nathani from Cape Town, South Africa, has seen the impact of Correctbook on the South African socioeconomic landscape.
“Correctbook has given an opportunity for more businesses in South Africa as the books are being produced by a third-party company here in Cape Town. There is a second company manufacturing a pen for us that will be a 100% product of South Africa,” Siyabonga explains. “We already have one of our books 100% produced in South Africa. As we continue to grow, the opportunities for further business and economic impact will also grow.”
While the Correcbook is available nationally in Kenya through a major stationary chain and in South Africa through all the major online retailers, the goal is continued exponential growth.
Sameul’s deep desire and personal mission is for Correctbook to grow even further. He says, “I want Correctbook to continue to grow in Kenya. When I go into a supermarket, I want to see Correctbooks available. I would love to see them available wherever I go in the country. I want to see children in all schools pulling Correctbooks out of their bags in class.”
Siyabonga echoes this sentiment; he would “love to see Correctbook become the new normal for writing. I want Correctbook to be the book to use, especially in schools, because of the impact that I know it makes. I would love to see it being used more regularly. This is the greatest thing that could happen.”
This dream is driving the Correctbook Africa team.
Samuel passionately believes that “we are on a mission here to help as many children and people as possible. That is why we keep on doing what we are doing. That is what is driving us. We want to make a real difference for good.”
Words and Photos: Matthew Jordaan
