Currently, less than 7 percent of high school graduates in the African nation of Eswatini proceed to higher education, according to a 2020 UNICEF study. This troubling fact led Thandolwethu Dlamini, a graduate student in MIT’s Technology and Policy Program, to found The Knowledge Institute (TKI), which earned a $20,000 grant at the 20th annual MIT IDEAS Social Innovation Awards on April 25. TKI is developing a mobile platform to simplify and streamline the college application process for high schoolers in Eswatini, Dlamini’s home country. Nearly 60 percent of Eswatini’s population lives below the poverty line and additional education could substantially improve the lives of many of the country’s young people. “This is an investment in the youth and in the future of Eswatini” said Dlamani upon receiving the award. “We are extremely grateful for IDEAS for believing in our project and helping us throughout the entire IDEAS program as we were refining everything.”