The story of Ebrahim Moolla

I learned how to learn the hard way.

From a student who taught himself Accounting in five months, to a Chartered Accountant, to a tutor who has helped learners find their confidence for more than 20 years.

Where it started

Failure wasn’t an option.

It started with me. As a student, I needed to find a system, a method to help me pass and get a move on with my studies. I had to pass. Failure wasn’t an option. In a degree I had no prior experience in.

So I created and used this system and it allowed me to complete my studies and obtain all the things I set out to accomplish.

Learning the hard way

I didn’t even take Accounting in high school.

I went on to become a Chartered Accountant, CA(SA). To get there I had to teach myself, in five months, what other Accounting students had learned over three years. My methods worked.

I later worked for some of the biggest financial institutions in the world. But I always made time to keep learning, and to help others learn.

The first two learners

Knowledge was the only asset I had.

While I was at university I started tutoring, beginning with my neighbours’ two children. People told me I had no chance against seasoned teachers and tutors. “Why would anyone send their child to you?” they asked. I listened respectfully, and went ahead anyway.

The classes grew until we were teaching more than 140 learners a year, one Saturday a week, in a school block we hired. Many learners chose to spend the whole day with us.

What we believed

Inspire, don’t just motivate.

These are the ideas our classes were built on, and they’re the same ones behind everything on this website:

Quality over quantity
Don’t motivate learners, inspire them
Create a safe space
Laugh, and make them laugh too
Be real and authentic
Help them become the best version of themselves
Teach exam techniques, and how to handle stress, pressure and self-doubt

Proof, in people

What changed for some of them

From 14% to 72%

A matric learner started the year on 14% for Accounting. By December she had 72%, and she went on to study BCom. She went from hating the subject to pursuing it as a career.

From pocket money to his own company

A gardener’s son who was working weekends to afford Maths classes joined ours for free. He passed Grade 12 with exemption. Years later he told me he owns an IT software company.

From shy to lecturing 700

A quiet, introverted Accounting learner is now a lecturer at one of South Africa’s biggest universities, in front of up to 700 students at a time.

Today

empowermint

empowermint is where I share that system: a free study planner to get organised, a book with the full method, and articles on the blog.

Let’s write your success story.

Start with the free planner, or read the full method in the book.

Who is Ebrahim Moolla?

Ebrahim Moolla is a Chartered Accountant, CA(SA), author and tutor based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He founded empowermint to teach learners, students and parents how to learn, and he is the author of the book Mastering Your Studies.

Ebrahim Moolla did not take Accounting in high school. He taught himself, in five months, what other students had learned over three years, and that experience shaped everything he now teaches.

Ebrahim Moolla, author of Mastering Your Studies

Ebrahim Moolla’s teaching story

Ebrahim Moolla started tutoring as a university student, with two neighbours’ children. The business grew until it hired an entire school block for Saturday classes and taught more than 140 learners a year.

Each class ran for two hours with breaks, and many learners stayed all day, doing homework between sessions. Ebrahim Moolla describes it as a community of unity, care and wonder.

Learners from those classes went on to become doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants, teachers, entrepreneurs, plumbers and electricians. Different talents, different starting points, the same belief that they could do it.

The Ebrahim Moolla learning model

The classes ran on a few simple beliefs:

Quality over quantity.
Do not motivate learners; inspire them.
Create a safe space where nobody feels stupid.
Laugh together, and learn from the learners.
Be real and authentic.
Give learners systems and techniques they can use for life.

These same ideas shape the book and the free study planner.

Free study planner built by Ebrahim Moolla, shown on a phone

Ebrahim Moolla’s career and qualifications

Ebrahim Moolla qualified as a CA(SA), the designation of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, and holds postgraduate qualifications. He later worked for some of the biggest financial institutions in the world, creating new products and industries along the way. You can learn more about the profession at SAICA.

Throughout his career, Ebrahim Moolla kept making time to learn and to help others learn. He calls himself a student for life.

What Ebrahim Moolla has built

Mastering Your Studies, a short, practical guide to learning better.
The free study planner, which turns subjects and exam dates into a daily plan.
The empowermint blog, with practical ideas on studying, exams and mindset.

Questions about Ebrahim Moolla

Where is Ebrahim Moolla based?

Ebrahim Moolla is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and empowermint serves learners across the country.

Why did Ebrahim Moolla start empowermint?

Because he cares. He saw learners transform from existing to becoming the best versions of themselves, and he wants to make a difference for the learners of today.

What is Ebrahim Moolla’s book about?

Mastering Your Studies is a guide on how to learn better: mindset, preparation, focus, habits, pressure and exam technique, in plain language.

How can I contact Ebrahim Moolla?

Use the contact page to send a message about the book, an order or the planner.