Scholarship opens 20 fully funded pathways to in-demand careers. Sep 28, 2026 HyperionDev has announced the Moola Motlomelo & Muslim Hands Scholarship 2026, offering 20 young people full tuition funding, mentorship and career support, with applications open from 21 September to 9 October 2026. The scholarship will award 20 full-tuition scholarships worth up to R2 million in total, giving selected applicants 100% tuition funding for eligible HyperionDev bootcamps or programmes through its university partners. Scholars will also receive mentorship, learner support and career-focused online learning. The initiative comes as South Africa continues to face significant barriers to youth employment. According to Statistics South Africa's Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the second quarter of 2026, the unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 34 reached 47.4%, with 5 million unemployed young people recorded during the quarter. Funding comes partially from personal contributions by HyperionDev founder and CEO Riaz Moola, with Muslim Hands South Africa contributing towards 10 of the scholarship places. "A matric certificate should be the beginning of a journey, not the end of one. Access to the right skills can change the opportunities available to a young person," says Moola. "Through this scholarship, we want to make high-quality education more accessible to people who have the drive to learn but may not otherwise have the means to pursue it. We are particularly interested in what happens beyond the classroom: how these skills can translate into careers, greater economic independence and new possibilities for the people who acquire them." For Muslim Hands, the partnership reflects a belief that sustainable development goes beyond immediate relief, with education creating pathways towards greater economic opportunity. "Technology education is particularly important because the future economy is increasingly digital," says Ibnul Hasan, Muslim Hands SA Country Director. "By investing in fields like software engineering and data science, we are creating opportunities for young people to access high-growth careers and participate in the modern economy. Our ambition is not simply to produce 20 graduates, but to build a pool of skilled professionals who can create jobs, mentor others and contribute to their communities." The partnership combines Muslim Hands' understanding of vulnerable communities and development challenges with HyperionDev's industry-relevant education, creating a bridge between potential, skills and economic opportunity. Who can apply? Applications are open to people under 30 who are South African or Lesotho citizens or permanent residents, are currently unemployed or earning less than R6,000 per month, and have matric as their highest qualification. Applicants must also have a total household income below R10,000 per month and be able to provide supporting documentation. Eligible applicants may be considered for selected HyperionDev bootcamps and university partner programmes in fields including software engineering, data science, web development and cybersecurity. Previous coding or technology experience is not required for many of the eligible programmes, making the opportunity accessible to people at the beginning of their learning journey. Applicants will need to submit their personal and employment information, proof of household income, education and residency or citizenship, and a short written motivation. A completed application also requires applicants to share a motivation post or comment on Reddit. Beyond tuition Successful applicants will receive career guidance, access to future support opportunities and an invitation to an annual networking event with fellow scholars, industry leaders and HyperionDev founders. For Muslim Hands, the potential impact isn't limited to the individual scholar. A young person who gains a marketable skill and finds employment can support their household, contribute to siblings' education, or go on to create opportunities for others. Applicants are encouraged to look past simply obtaining a qualification or securing a job, and consider how they could use their skills to solve problems in their communities. Applications for the Moola Motlomelo & Muslim Hands Scholarship 2026 are open until 9 October 2026.

Ex-OpenAI, Google experts intro AI app builder in SA. March 25, 2026 Skills development organisation HyperionDev has introduced a generative artificial intelligence (AI) coding platform that seeks to become a bridge between experimental AI tools and production-ready software development. HyperDev is an AI app builder that lets users go from plain language to running code. The venture is created by former researchers from OpenAI and Google: Piotr Sobolewski, an expert who honed his craft at OpenAI, where he worked on ChatGPT, and Riaz Moola, formerly employed at Google, where he worked in the Google Search team on language models. According to HyperionDev, the Version 1 platform is aimed at helping entrepreneurs, aspiring developers, start-up founders and technology professionals to build complete software applications using AI. The platform is targeted at a global audience and seeks to make it easier for users to move from idea to working product by combining AI-generated code with guidance tools and optional human developer support. It can be used to build a range of software products that combine front-end interfaces, back-end logic, databases and integrations with third-party services. This includes business automation tools, e-commerce platforms with checkout functionality, and mobile and web productivity apps. "We're building AI that helps people use AI," says Sobolewski, CTO of HyperDev. "The platform generates code step-by-step through structured workflows rather than producing a single block of output. These staged processes include validation checks and testing mechanisms to reduce errors and improve the reliability of generated software. "Our goal is to enable them to complete the final pieces of the technical work needed to actually ship something." The platform allows users to describe the software they want to build. HyperDev then uses large language models to generate the required code, structure the application architecture and guide the development process from initial concept to deployment. HyperDev also integrates with developer tools such as GitHub, enabling version control, monitoring and rollback capabilities for projects that are deployed. According to the company, a central feature of the platform is a proprietary system known as Guided Mode, which acts as an assistive AI layer during development. The feature monitors the code being generated, helps troubleshoot bugs and provides suggestions to improve or fix sections of the program. The aim is to prevent less experienced users from becoming stuck when AI-generated code becomes difficult to debug or maintain. "By introducing this intelligent layer, we help users navigate technical challenges in real-time. And crucially, we maintain a fallback to certified human developers who can step in if the user needs that final level of assurance," notes Anton Moulder, chief product officer at HyperDev. The platform takes on rivals such as GitHub Copilot / Copilot Spark, FlutterFlow and Convex Chef, among others. HyperDev is part of the broader ecosystem created by HyperionDev, a South African developer education platform that provides coding boot camps and technology training. Version 1 of the platform is freely available through the company's website. Paid subscription tiers are available for heavier usage and additional features. The company says it is also seeking partnerships with developers, enterprises and investors as it scales the platform globally.