Charles Lebon Mberi Kimpolo

AIMS South Africa | 2005

Dr Charles Lebon Mberi Kimpolo, is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and graduated from AIMS South Africa in 2005. Upon graduation, he went on to earn his PhD and postdoctorate in mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand. Currently, Charles is the Director of the AIMS Industry Initiative. Prior to that, Charles workes with works as a software developer at ThoughtWorks, a global IT consultancy company based in South Africa.

ThoughtWorks aims to revolutionize software design, creation and delivery, while advocating for positive social change. Increasing software design in Africa is critical to the success of engineering, manufacturing and businesses endeavors, especially in emerging economies. Strong internal software capabilities will allow African industry to remain competitive in the global market.

At ThoughtWorks, Charles has developed a passion for using technology as a tool for social change in Africa, “I want to make a difference with technology in our continent.” On 12 May 2014, Charles and his team launched The Young African Technologies (YAT) initiative which aims to promote education through technology in under privileged communities. For Charles, YAT is a way of giving back to underprivileged communities to help increase access to technology.

“I believe that the training at AIMS provided me with excellent graduate-level mathematical modelling skills that are prerequisites to quickly learn software development.”