Most companies get to know a supplier before they buy into it, and Advtech has had three years. Its schools, Crawford International among them, have used MathU's learning platform under their own Advlearn name since 2023. On Wednesday Advtech confirmed that it now owns 25% of MathU itself.
MathU is a South African education technology company that works on three fronts: a Society arm for under-resourced learners, an Academy arm for schools and a Corporate arm for workplace training. An AI tutor is one of its tools, sitting alongside teaching and course materials. Inside Advtech's schools, the platform delivers what the group calls personalised learning in maths and physical science.
What a quarter of MathU buys
The stake comes with a seat on MathU's board and exclusive rights to its AI-enhanced education tools. Those rights cover the tools MathU has not built yet as well as the ones Advtech's pupils already use, and the board seat gives Advtech a say in what gets built.
Both sides sold it as a way to reach more children. Group chief executive Geoff Whyte said it "strengthens our ability to deliver personalised learning while expanding access to quality education across Africa". MathU's founder and chief executive, WA Burger, expects the partnership to "accelerate the reach of our technology and bring innovative learning solutions to more students".
None of this is brand new. Advtech's interim results in August already recorded that, after the end of the reporting period, it had bought 25% of a company called MathU Teaching Emporium for R15.8 million. The deal came too late to be counted in those half-year accounts, and Wednesday's statement is the formal announcement.
The other October deal, in Gqeberha
MathU was not Advtech's only announcement this month. Earlier in October it bought the historic St George's School property in Gqeberha for The Bridge School, which offers assisted learning tailored to the needs of neurodivergent children. It will be the school's first Eastern Cape campus, with room for 450 pupils.
Both deals back teaching that fits the individual child, one through software and one through a building. English is due on the MathU platform shortly, and the Gqeberha campus opens in January 2028.
