A Tanzanian who created an app to help African students studying in China network with one another wants to expand the project to other countries.

Kizwalo Simbila launched the Schoolbiz in August 2017 in Tanzania – a month before going to study in China at Ningbo University.

It has become more sophisticated over the years and about 500 students from the continent in China have been using it.

Members can sign up for free and now access a range of material, such as information about scholarships and job opportunities as well as advice on how to expand their ideas.

 “Students or young people in general always have a lot of great ideas, unfortunately most of the time, there’s no-one there to help them with bringing these ideas into life and that is where SchoolBiz comes in,” Mr Simbila said.

A member can create a group, start a topic and get involved in conversations. This has been particularly helpful during the last year with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year, Schoolbiz also participated in China’s College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, where its team was recognised for nurturing students’ ideas to become realities.

Mr Simbila’s project – which is self-funded – is also supported by the students’ union at Ningbo University, where he is studying business administration.