Kealeboga Mokolobate launched A-Plus Learning in 2011 as a Wits postgraduate student needing to supplement her scholarship. What started as a poster campaign offering tutoring grew into a team of 30 freelance tutors serving more than 100 students, plus a contract to support the university’s own bursary students.
The model: students tutoring students
A-Plus Learning’s tutors are academically strong students working freelance, which gives them both extra income and first-hand understanding of the pressures their clients face balancing coursework, finances and campus life.
How the university contract happened
The breakthrough came from a colleague’s referral rather than a formal pitch process, which led to an interview where the university tested whether the business could actually deliver before awarding the contract, a reminder that most real opportunities start from an existing relationship, not a cold approach.
The hardest part of running it
Pricing was the recurring tension: charging what students can afford while still paying tutors fairly for their time. Mokolobate’s answer was building a support system that treats tutoring as a legitimate part-time career, not a favour.
Frequently asked questions
What is A-Plus Learning?
A campus tutoring startup founded in 2011 at the University of the Witwatersrand, connecting students needing academic support with peer tutors.
How did A-Plus Learning grow from a small operation into a university contract?
Through a referral from a university contact, followed by a vetting process to confirm the business could deliver reliably at scale.
What is the biggest challenge in running a student tutoring business?
Balancing affordable pricing for students against fair pay for tutors, while managing the business alongside your own studies.
Do you need funding to start a tutoring business on campus?
Not necessarily. This business started with posters and word of mouth rather than outside capital.
What skills matter most for a student-run tutoring startup?
Recruiting genuinely strong peer tutors and building trust with both students and the institution you want to partner with.
Further reading: Government funding options for South African SMEs
Originally published in 2016. Updated September 2026.
