The App Keeping 10,000 Kids Safe, One School Gate at a Time

Mandilakhe Somdle
6 days ago
3 min read

Portait of the CEO of Adashi, Ahmed. — IMAGE CAPTION: A PasswordKid device next to school children. *Image: Supplied /* *Passwordkid*

Keletso Lekwakwe recalls having to quit football to pick up his younger brother from school. Years later, that memory evolved into PasswordKid, now installed in over 45 schools and expanding into Lesotho.

Growing up, Keletso had a problem millions of South African families know well. His mother worked as a domestic worker. He played football at a professional academy. His younger brother was in preschool. Every afternoon: the same question. Who is picking up the child?

"My mom gave me an ultimatum," he recalls. Either she stops working and there's no food on the table, or he stops playing football so his younger brother gets picked up in time.

He stopped playing football.

Years later, studying IT, he met his co-founder, who had a different but identical story. His aunt owned a preschool where every afternoon pickup turned chaotic. Strangers arrived to collect children. Parents didn't answer their phones. The school was left making impossible calls at the gate.

They decided, since they are both software developers, why don't they build something? That conversation became PasswordKid.

How It Works

PasswordKid is a child safety platform that verifies who is authorised to collect a child from school, using OTPs, facial recognition, or biometrics.

If a parent can't make a pickup, they open the app, delegate a trusted person, and generate an authorisation. When that person arrives at school, they verify through a PasswordKid kiosk installed on the premises. The school confirms the delegation in real time, and the parent receives an instant notification. Every entry. Every exit. Every time.

"Take it like your bank account," Keletso explains. "Every time you withdraw or deposit, you get a notification. Same with your child."

The company now has over 10,000 children on its platform, meaning over 20,000 parents depending on it daily. The moment Keletso is most proud of wasn't a funding milestone. It was a glitch.

"SMSs didn't go through one morning. We got calls and emails, not from schools, from parents, panicking, asking if their child made it. Before we existed, parents didn't know they were living an uninformed life each year, not knowing if their kids got to school safely."

Friction in the Market

PasswordKid initially tried an Uber-style model, offering the platform to existing scholar transport operators so they could provide better safety to parents. Most refused. The reason: transparency. The system would show parents exactly when drivers picked up their children, exposing those collecting kids at 4am for a 7am school start.

"They didn't want those results showing to parents. But a child waking up at three to get to school at seven, that's morally wrong."

The same operators who refused the platform are now threatening the company for competing with them.

"We tried to give them the solution. They didn't want it. So now we're forced to build our own."

The Institutional Connections

Through a programme with FSAT Labs, an ecosystem partner connected to AfricArena, Keletso made a connection that turned into six new school clients. Not through an investor introduction, but through a fellow founder who knew someone who owned a group of preschools called Mopsy Kids.

"I thought it was one of those connections where we'd never talk again. Then a few months later he reached out. All six schools are now using our system."

It reinforced something he believes strongly: the real value at ecosystem events often comes from peers, not panels.

What's Next

PasswordKid is expanding into Lesotho, with three schools already paid up and waiting for installation. A full school management system, covering fee payments, teacher meetings, and school communications, is currently being piloted and will roll out across all existing clients soon.

Keletso's advice to other founders is as direct as the man himself:

"There is no problem in business that is not solved by sales. Cash flow problem? Payroll problem? Sell ten times more. Sooner or later, the problem goes away."

Want to Be Part of the Next Big Thing?

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