Mozambican education and technology company MozEduca has launched Maza AI, an artificial intelligence platform designed to help students prepare for national examinations through content aligned with the National Education System, support for local languages, and expanded access to digital tools. The initiative was unveiled on Thursday, 22 May, in Maputo, in the context of a partnership with Vodacom Mozambique that aims to make the platform accessible without mobile data costs.

According to MozEduca Director-General Isaias Filipe, the solution was developed over more than two years and is built around three core components: contextualisation of educational content to the Mozambican reality, interaction in national languages, and the provision of features tailored to users’ needs.

On the educational side, the platform is designed to deliver responses grounded in the content of the National Education System rather than relying solely on generic information available on the internet. The approach is intended to allow students to find explanations for subjects such as Physics, Mathematics, and Biology as they are framed within Mozambican teaching curricula. “The answer is not based on the internet, but on the National Education System,” Isaias Filipe said, highlighting content contextualisation as one of the platform’s defining characteristics.

The second component addresses linguistic inclusion. In this initial phase, the platform supports interaction in Xangana, Sena, and Emakhuwa — languages spoken in the southern, central, and northern regions of the country, respectively. According to Isaias Filipe, the initiative seeks to make artificial intelligence accessible to people with varying levels of digital literacy and limited proficiency in other languages.

The third component encompasses differentiated features and services, including paid options for users requiring more advanced resources. The Director-General said “the model seeks to account for financial inclusion challenges and create conditions for different segments of users to benefit from the technology.”

“The answer is not based on the internet, but on the National Education System” — Isaias Filipe, Director-General, MozEduca

The partnership with Vodacom Mozambique forms a central pillar of the strategy to broaden the platform’s reach, particularly among students in areas distant from major urban centres. Isaias Filipe explained that the two organisations are working to enable access to Maza AI without mobile data consumption, though that functionality was not yet available at the time of the launch. “Our primary objective is to ensure that this solution reaches the most remote student,” he said, adding that the partnership aims to address connectivity challenges faced by students across the country.

Preparation for national examinations is one of the initiative’s immediate priorities. Isaias Filipe indicated that the company’s initial target audience comprises approximately 788,000 students in grades nine and ten — a figure he said corresponds to the number of students assessed by the Ministry of Education and Culture in the previous year. The platform is intended to support these students’ exam preparation, particularly in the period leading up to assessments.

When asked about the risk of students using the AI simply to copy answers, Isaias said user behaviour also depends on how the tool is employed, and noted that the company is working to promote appropriate use of the platform.

At the launch ceremony, Minister of Education and Culture Edson Macuacua argued that artificial intelligence should function as an instrument to support teaching and learning without replacing human intelligence or removing the need for research and the development of students’ cognitive abilities. “AI does not replace human intelligence. We must continue to cultivate our knowledge, even in order to make more intelligent use of artificial intelligence,” the minister said, underscoring the need to promote responsible use of these technologies within the education system.

MozEduca is a Mozambican company operating in the education and technology sectors, focused on developing digital learning solutions and providing educational content and academic support tools for students.

With Maza AI, the company intends to progressively develop new features and expand distribution through the Vodacom partnership. The realisation of zero-data access and the expansion of the platform to students in different regions will be key milestones in assessing the initiative’s reach and its contribution to teaching and learning in Mozambique.

Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=554807