Molise Mokhakala

Molise Mokhakala
Co-Founder & CTO, Vertex Learnbox

Mr. Molise Mokhakala serves as Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Vertex Learnbox, where he leads the technical architecture and product vision of the platform with a conviction that runs deeper than code: that technology is only worth building if it demonstrably improves the life of the person using it, a human-centered philosophy he holds to what he himself calls an almost unbelievable degree. The man is at his happiest when his inventions change lives .Prior to and alongside his work at Vertex, he gained hands-on industry experience as a Technical Operator at CBI Electric in Lesotho, working on actuators and pneumatic system control in manufacturing automation. His commitment to education and community runs just as deep: he began tutoring high school students in 2019, co-founded Devine Tutoring immediately after completing his schooling at Machabeng International College, and went on to tutor Embedded Systems and Computer Science at the University of Cape Town, guiding first-years through Python, STM32 systems, and embedded C. He served as Secretary General of the Lesotho Students Association (LESA) at UCT, an organization dedicated to bettering the lives of Basotho students by resolving issues around scholarships, manpower, housing, and social life, and continues to mentor through the Big Brother Mentorship Programme and the Lesotho2SA Application Initiative, a LESA-Vodacom Lesotho collaboration bridging the information gap for Basotho students entering South African higher education. As Co-President of the Machabeng Robotics Club from 2019 to 2021, he and his co-president took on a team that had suffered a noticeable decline the year prior and worked to keep it alive, teaching Python and Java to beginner programmers.

Mr. Mokhakala’s drive is rooted in rigorous academic excellence paired with a restless engineering curiosity. He graduated with honours in a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, specializing in Mechatronics, at the University of Cape Town, and was named to the Dean’s Merit List in 2023 for maintaining an average GPA above 70 across all coursework, building on an IBDP record of Level 7 Chemistry SL, Level 6 Mathematics HL, and Level 5 Physics HL, and an LGCSE record of seven A* grades raking him a co-valedictorian for Machabeng college class of 2021 and the only top 1 student for the 2018 national LGCSE cohort respectively. He was a dominant competitor at LSMTA science fairs, quizzes, and mathematics tournaments, routinely securing first-place accolades, and represented his school at the National Science Fair every year from 2015 to 2018. His portfolio reflects the same conviction that drives his career: the Artificial Intelligence for Power (AIP) Project, building real-time sensing systems and embedded ESP32 software for AI-driven energy analytics; Dettera, a wildlife monitoring and deterrence platform protecting vulnerable species from predators; a line-following Micromouse with a custom sensor PCB and PID-controlled STM32 navigation; and a laser microphone project recovering audio through modulated light and custom DSP. Beyond engineering, he volunteered at the Maseru West Orphanage, packed medicine and shadowed nurses at St. Monica’s Clinic, and took part in Model UN at Machabeng College; in 2021, his community contributions earned him recognition by the United Nations Lesotho as a finalist for the SDG Global Challenge competition, and he participated in the UN75 global initiative on sustainability, peace, and inclusive development. Further details are available at his portfolio site, mklabsandarts.wixsite.com/molise-mokhakala.