Mpho Makutu, who once built robots from scrap and sold them to tourists in Soweto, is now the founder and CEO of his own robotics company in Johannesburg, The South African reported.
His company, MphoRobotics, is based in Braamfontein. It builds STEAM robots for education. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math.
Makutu grew up poor in Kopermyn, a rural village south of Polokwane in Limpopo. His interest in technology started in Grade 5, when he made toy cars from wire and tin cans.
He soon began taking apart electronic items at home to use their parts. He said he got “quite a beating” after he took apart his father’s hi-fi without permission.
After he finished matric in 2015, Makutu moved to Johannesburg to study mechanical engineering. The cost of living in the city was high, and he needed money to pay for his studies.
He collected useful items from dump sites around Johannesburg. These included cardboard, coat-hanger wire, cool-drink cans, deodorant bottle caps and old drills.
From this scrap, he built robots and remote-controlled cars. He sold them to tourists on Vilakazi Street in Soweto. On a weekend, he could earn up to R300, which helped pay for groceries, rent and his studies.
One of his best-known pieces was a red robotic crane about two metres tall. It had four motors and a wired remote control with seven levers. It took him two weeks to build.
The crane could lift small objects and turn a full 360 degrees. “My friends and family were amazed to see that trash could make a colourful robot,” Makutu said.
In 2016, Johannesburg metro police took his goods in the city. They asked for R2,600 to release them, but he did not have the money.
Things changed in late 2017. Vlogger Nuseir Yassin, known as Nas Daily, spotted Makutu outside a Soweto restaurant. Makutu was 20 years old at the time.
Yassin, who has more than 70 million followers, made a one-minute video about him. The clip went viral.
In 2021, Makutu was named artist-in-residence at the Shade arts centre in Brixton, Johannesburg. The role was part of its Waste Not Want Not project, where he worked with waste reclaimers.
Makutu is still based in Johannesburg, where he runs MphoRobotics from its office in Braamfontein.
Source: this article is based on reporting by The South African. Image: The South African. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.