Nearly 20 years after first renting the auditorium at 56 Main Street in Marshalltown for his then-brand-new inner-city education project, Dr. Teddy Blecher purchased the building. From a new initiative with the lofty goal of educating 100,000 underprivileged children, Blecher and his completely remarkable Maharishi Invincibility Institute There are 25% of the way.
Expanding education to transform Johannesburg
“We have educated 25,595 young people, 70% of them women, so we are now a quarter of the way to our goal,” Blecher said at the launch of a new initiative a few weeks ago.
“But most importantly, we put 22,567 of those previously unemployed people into quality jobs; earning – if you add up all these starting salaries in the first year of working – R2.26bn per year going back into those families,” he said. “So, education changes lives.”
That means 175,000 family members are being supported by those “brand-new salaries,” says Blecher, who was a young actuary when he came up with the idea that would give the Maharishi Invincibility Institute the wonderful name. “If our graduates never get a pay rise, and just work until retirement, they will earn more than R82.95 billion conservatively over their working careers.”
And his good work did not go unnoticed. Stanford University recognized Maharishi as one of the 12 most innovative educational institutions in the world. Stanford writes in its 2025, “Courageous visionaries continue to break down the barriers of what higher education has traditionally looked like; they are creating radical new models that expand access for a more diverse group of students, enabling them to better connect with the educational institution they serve and the world they enter after graduation.” Reimagining Higher Ed Report.
Blecher recently revealed the next evolution of this self-funded education success story. In addition to unveiling the purchase of the building that used to house the Department of Labour, he announced an alliance with another highly successful South African entrepreneur.
David Frankel was a young engineer who founded South Africa's first Internet Service Provider (ISP), which was sold to the then Dimension Data for R400 million. Frankel went to study in the US, where he started the Founder Collective investment firm, which provided early funding for Uber in addition to other high-profile deals.
After Mark Shuttleworth and Elon Musk, Frankel is the second famous South African inventor that no one knows about. Intelligent and quick-witted, he is cool and practical in a way that is not associated with Silicon Valley royalty – as is his equally successful wife Tracy, herself a neurologist trained at Baragwanath Hospital.
His philanthropic venture NextUp is teaming up with Blecher to create the Maharshi NextUp Institute of Technology (MNIT). Tech firm Altron has signed on as the anchor tenant for the initiative, which will focus on technical and digital skills. These include accredited courses in AI, robotics and automation as well as cyber security and digital skills such as cloud engineering, digital design, digital marketing and data science.
“Mr. B, as he is affectionately known here, is one of the most extraordinary entrepreneurs we have ever met,” Frankel said at a launch event at the 10-story building he provided the money to buy last year. “We're here to throw another wood on the bonfire,” he said of the investment. “It's a real moonshine.”
Indeed, Frankel says, “We believe in a future where Johannesburg will become one of the leading tech capitals on the continent. By providing this sustainable infrastructure and nurturing the set of cutting-edge programs coming here, we are confident that we will see young people trained as future tech leaders who will drive South Africa's digital economy.”
Blecher's approach is equally bold. With the Maharishi's original neighboring building – “you can't miss it from the highway” – and now having bought 56 Main Street, he plans to transform the CBD into an educational haven for youth and a more hospitable place he is calling Education Town. He has already overseen the construction of the first full-sized football field in the CBD in a century and a new security academy, whose students patrol nearby buildings.
All this is happening simultaneously jozi my joziAnother initiative to reclaim the inner city and highlight all the good work being done by entrepreneurs.
Jozi My Jozi – which is backed by Anglo American, Standard Bank, Absa, IQBusiness, Nando's and Wits – was co-founded by Nando's founder Robbie Brozin, who has brought his renowned energy and leadership to revitalize the City of Gold.
Blecher says the city has entered its Joburg 2.0 phase, which he identifies as post-1994.
“Joburg is not dying. Joburg was waiting, waiting to be re-imagined,” he said, passionately arguing for a “new Joburg 2.0”.
It's not hard to get swept up in Blecher's enthusiasm – as Ultron, Frankels and the other companies involved show. For nearly 20 years, they have poured their heart and soul into what is now a beacon of hope for many young people, two of whom MC-ed the launch event and shared their personal stories. Both the girls told that before studying at Maharishi, they were not only unemployed but also directionless. Both are now gainfully employed as cyber security officers in big banks and support their respective families.
Blecher sees it as a calling to uplift his hometown as well as educate underprivileged children.
“Who would have thought that for many of us, growing up in the city, one day it would be our job – on our shoulders – and what a joy it would be to rebuild Joburg.”