Namibia’s first AI tutoring labs launched in Lüderitz

The ||Kharas Region has become the first in Namibia to launch two dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) tutoring laboratories at Angra Pequena Senior Secondary School in Lüderitz.

The labs were officially launched on Monday, 21 September 2026, in a project supported by BW Kudu, a BW Energy company, and Namport.

“The two AI tutoring labs are the first of their kind in a Namibian government school. This is a significant achievement for Lüderitz and for the ||Kharas Region, and it shows what can happen when education, public leadership and responsible business partnership work together," ||Kharas governor Dawid Gertze said.

BW Kudu invested N$900,000 and Namport N$250,000 in the project. The funding was used to equip the laboratories, support teacher training, provide an after-school study programme with meals, and recognise teachers and learners who use the facilities effectively. The 20 teachers at the school now have access to teaching-assistant support, while all 436 learners can access personalised tutoring.

Gertze lauded BW Kudu and Namport for their support and called on other companies operating along the coast to support the planned expansion of the programme. “Six additional schools in the ||Kharas Region are scheduled to receive labs in 2027. Please sponsor one of those schools. Local employment begins with local education and local skills,” he said.

Vitalis P Haupindi, co-founder and chief executive of YYeni AI, explained that the BW Kudu Lab and Namport Lab provide learners with a supervised environment in which to practise, receive immediate feedback and work through areas they do not understand.

Haupindi said the programme had been operating ahead of the official launch, allowing teachers and learners to incorporate the tutoring sessions into their daily school routines. “The Lüderitz deployment forms part of Project Aristotle, YYeni AI’s programme to extend the model to six government secondary schools in the ||Kharas Region in 2027 and 120 government secondary schools by 2033. Further expansion will depend on funding and agreements with the relevant institutions," he said.

The governor also encouraged schools, parents and learners to promote the responsible and educational use of AI. “It should make learners think, practise, correct themselves and understand, not do the thinking for them,” Gertze said.

He noted that the region’s learners had improved from 11th to eighth place nationally in the 2025 NSSCO examinations, attributing the progress to the work of teachers in classrooms. “These labs build on that work; they do not replace it,” Gertze said. 

The governor highlighted that the future of the ||Kharas Region was closely linked to opportunities emerging along the coast, including green hydrogen, oil and gas and port-related development. “These industries would require strong mathematics, physics, English and technical skills. Preparation begins in the classroom. It begins with the foundations of learning and continues through the Grade 11 and Grade 12 results that open doors to further study and employment,” he said.

Gertze also pointed to existing training pathways through the Keetmanshoop Vocational Training Centre, the Namibia Institute of Mining and Technology, the UNAM Southern Campus and the NUST Lüderitz Campus. “These labs strengthen the foundations on which those pathways depend,” he said.

BW Kudu general manager Manfriedt Muundjua said the project counted among the company’s significant investments in Namibia. “Writing a cheque is easy. Creating lasting impact is more difficult. We therefore approached this not as a donation but as an investment,” Muundjua said.

He said the project’s locally developed model was one of its attractions, with young Namibians who had recently been through the school system involved in identifying challenges and developing solutions. “What distinguished this initiative was not the technology alone. It was the clarity of purpose. This project was designed to improve learning outcomes, support teachers and create sustainable access to educational tools,” he said.

Muundjua said the company had opted for a three-year partnership because it saw the project as practical, measurable and capable of being expanded. According to Muundjua, BW Energy’s long-term approach to investment also reflects in its support for education. “The engineers, technicians, teachers, entrepreneurs and coders who will shape Namibia’s future are sitting in classrooms today,” he said. 

BW Kudu is the operator of the Kudu licence, working alongside NAMCOR.