Netstar has opened its first Digital Learning Centre (DLC) at the BG Alexander Estate in Hillbrow, in partnership with MES (Mould Empower Serve) NPC. This is the second such facility delivered through Altron’s partnership with citizen movement Jozi My Jozi, and a clear signal that one of South Africa’s oldest technology groups is converting “tech for good” rhetoric into physical infrastructure that inner-city Johannesburg learners will benefit from for years to come.
The Netstar DLC is purpose-built for grade 7-9 learners from inner-city Johannesburg – children who typically do not have access to Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) resources such as robotics, coding or structured problem-solving frameworks before leaving school.
Across two dedicated rooms, learners rotate through three streams:
- IT and digital skills: Foundational coding and computer literacy
- Tinker: An innovative-thinking programme that builds problem-solving and spatial reasoning
- Robotics: Engineering principles delivered through team-based challenges
During the school day, the hub also opens its doors to learners from neighbouring schools, multiplying its reach well beyond the facility’s registered after-care student body.
“This is what meaningful CSI looks like in practice,” said incoming Netstar MD Warren Mande. “We didn’t want a once-off donation or a logo on a wall. We wanted something that compounds year after year, learner after learner, and a Digital Learning Centre delivers exactly that. The young learners walking through these doors are the engineers, software developers and entrepreneurs South Africa is going to need tomorrow. Our job is to make sure they get a head start.”
Leona Pienaar, CEO of MES, explains that MES Ignite focuses on pre-schools, after-school programmes and youth development for inner city children.
“Today we are not only opening a Digital Learning Centre, but we are also opening doors of possibility for children in the heart of Hillbrow,” said Pienaar. “Through coding, robotics and innovative thinking, young minds will discover that their future is not limited by their environment but expanded by opportunity. In partnership with Madulammoho Housing Association who owns and manages many properties in which we operate, we are able to convert ordinary spaces into an environment of hope.
“I would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Netstar, Altron and Jozi My Jozi for believing that every child deserves access to the tools, skills and confidence needed to shape the future. You are helping us plant seeds of innovation, dignity and hope in Hillbrow – where future engineers, problem-solvers and leaders will now be empowered to rise.”
Partnership
The Netstar facility is the second DLC delivered under the broader Altron and Jozi My Jozi partnership, with the first opening at the Maharishi Invincibility Institute in Marshalltown in Oct 2025. The partnership was formed in 2025 to coincide with Altron’s 60th birthday, and is structured around three pillars: technology, employee giving and education.
“Altron’s story is intertwined with Johannesburg’s, and our 60th birthday celebration was always going to be about giving something back to the city that enabled so much of our growth,” said Collin Govender, group chief operating officer at Altron. “Two Digital Learning Centres in under a year is exactly the cadence we committed to. We are using technology, data and human ingenuity to build a simpler, safer and smarter tomorrow – and that future starts in classrooms like this one.”
For Jozi My Jozi, the Netstar DLC is a proof point for the public-private model the movement champions. “Partnerships are the cornerstone of progress, and the premise on which we act as a super-connector,” said CEO Innocent Mabusela.
“Altron and Netstar haven’t just joined the movement, they are delivering against it. Two centres in, we are seeing what’s possible when corporate South Africa shows up consistently for the benefit of the city and its children, as we work to revitalise the CBD, bring back hope and instil pride into our city once again.”
Through robotics, tinkering and coding, learners at the Netstar DLC develop the confidence and curiosity to become the innovators and problem-solvers of the future. The hub will operate year-round, with progress measured not in launch-day optimism but in sustainable learner outcomes over multiple academic years.
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