What The Maker Space does

The Maker Space is a South African non-profit maker organization, founded by Steve Gray and headquartered at 51 Station Drive in Durban's Morningside district, with an additional Durban studio at Studio 031 (trackside) and a partnership presence at TSHIMOLOGONG MAKERSPACE in Johannesburg. The organization provides shared access to professional fabrication tools (FDM 3D printers including Prusa i3 and Makerbot, laser cutters, CNC routers, Arduino electronics, and IoT development platforms) and open-source design software (Inkscape, Sketchup, Tinkercad, Blender, Cura) within a community-driven environment, with a stated mission of unlocking latent potential in people and building a "bottom-up economy" in underdeveloped regions.

The portfolio spans structured education (Maker Camp, IoT Deep Dive workshop, Arduino workshops, 3D printing, laser cutting and acrylic exploration, leather craft, jewellery making, robot building, jewellery, lamp making, chair making), tiered memberships (Individual R600/year through Co-working R1500/month), commercial services (LaserSpace commercial laser cutting, 3D Print Quote Service, Commercial Memberships), corporate team-building packages (R300-R1400 per person for groups of 4-80), and community events (MakerCon, Makerthon hackathons). Strategic partners include RoboDK (robotics software), Google.org (Impact Challenge funder), UNDP, and TSHIMOLOGONG MAKERSPACE.

The business model is non-profit and event-driven: recurring membership subscriptions, pay-as-you-go equipment time bookings (R50-R1200 per slot), one-time class fees, and corporate professional-services revenue form the operating base, supplemented by grants and partnerships. Pricing is set in South African Rand and ranges from very low (R600/year individual membership) to premium corporate experiences (R1400 per person for the Cajon drum workshop). There is no disclosed revenue, no disclosed headcount, and no subsequent funding rounds beyond the 2018 Google.org grant.

Name

The Maker Space

Legal name

The MakerSpace

Website

https://themakerspace.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Maker Space is a Durban-based non-profit maker organization that provides shared access to 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers, and IoT/electronics tools through memberships, workshops, and corporate team-building, serving individual hobbyists, students, digital professionals, and corporate clients in South Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maker Space Services and Digital Fabrication Education

akta.pro primary industry

Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios) (EDAMADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

3D Printing, CAD & Digital Fabrication Programs (EDAMADAH), Maker / DIY Electronics & Physical Computing Platforms (EDAFANAC)

Keywords

• Maker space services
• Digital fabrication training
• 3D printing workshops
• Laser cutting services
• Community maker education

Headquarters

HQ city

Durban

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Annual and monthly membership programs providing access to workspace, equipment usage, and training. Includes Individual (R600/year), Couples (R1000/year), Family (R1500/year), Occasional Co-worker (R500/month), and Co-working space (R1500/month) tiers.
2. Equipment Time Booking: Time-based rental of laser cutter and other equipment. Pricing tiers: R50/10min, R100/30min, R250/1hr, R550/2hr, R1200/4hr.
3. Classes and Workshops: Fees for structured learning experiences including laser cutting, leather craft, Arduino, 3D printing, jewellery making, woodworking, and other maker skills. Includes 3-hour classes and 4-day Maker Camp programs.
4. Corporate Team Building: Customized team building experiences for businesses including leather wallet craft (R500/pp), Cajon drum workshops (R1400/pp), Christmas decoration making (R450/pp), and combined high-tech/low-tech experiences (from R300/pp).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Maker Space is a non-profit maker organization that provides access to professional-grade digital fabrication tools (laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC routers, electronics workstations) and structured maker education through classes, workshops, and camps. It operates on a membership, usage, and fee-for-service model with a strong mission to empower marginalized communities through maker culture in underdeveloped regions of South Africa.

Product overview

The Maker Space is a non-profit maker space organization offering a diverse portfolio of hands-on making programs, fabrication services, and community facilities primarily based in Durban, South Africa. The core offering consists of maker education through classes and workshops (Maker Camp, Arduino/IoT workshops, 3D printing workshops, laser cutting, leather craft, jewellery making, robot building) and membership access to shared equipment including laser cutters and 3D printers. The portfolio includes a commercial division (LaserSpace, Commercial Memberships, 3D Print Quote Service) serving business customers alongside educational programs for schools and the Academy. Team building experiences form a significant B2B offering. The organization runs maker events including MakerCon (annual conference) and Makerthon (hackathon-style events). Key physical locations include TheMakerLab, The Foundry MakerSpace, and Studio 031 (trackside). Membership programs provide tiered access (Individual, Couples, Family) to facilities with bundled training and monthly cutting/printing credits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Maker Camp

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with UNDP, supporting development initiatives in underdeveloped regions through maker culture and technology access.
• TSHIMOLOGONG MAKERSPACEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for hosting Arduino electronics and 3D printing workshops at TSHIMOLOGONG MAKERSPACE location in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Noisebridge: Volunteer-run, donation-supported community hackerspace in San Francisco offering shared tools, electronics workstations, and maker workshops. Closely mirrors The Maker Space's community-of-makers, access-to-tools, and event-driven model.
• NYC Resistor: Member-supported hackerspace in Brooklyn, NY providing access to 3D printers, laser cutters, electronics, and a calendar of classes and events. Direct international comparable on the community makerspace operating model with similar membership, workshop, and equipment-rental streams.
• Made in Workshop: South African workshop/makerspace referenced in The Maker Space's MakerCon 2016 attendee list. Operates in a similar community-driven maker and digital fabrication space in the same geography.
• House4Hack: South African community makerspace in Pretoria that provides access to fabrication tools, electronics, and maker education. Explicitly listed by The Maker Space as a peer in the South African maker ecosystem during MakerCon 2016.
• Artisan's Asylum: Large community makerspace in Somerville, MA with fabrication equipment, classes, corporate team-building, and educational programs. Strong overlap with The Maker Space on the equipment-access, workshop, and corporate team-building revenue streams.
• BinarySpace: South African hackerspace/makerspace that hosts member-driven hardware and software projects, workshops, and community events. Directly referenced as a peer in The Maker Space's MakerCon 2016 documentation.
• Tshimologong MakerSpace: Makerspace based at the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct (Wits University) in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Already a strategic partner of The Maker Space for Arduino and 3D printing workshops, offering directly comparable maker education and tooling in the same South African market.

Broad incumbents

• Fab Foundation: Global non-profit that supports the worldwide Fab Lab network of digital fabrication labs. Operates at a much larger global scale but shares the same maker/maker-education mission and access-to-tools thesis that The Maker Space embodies locally.

Others

• RoboDK: Robotics simulation and control software vendor that is explicitly listed as a technology partner of The Maker Space. Serves the maker/robotics community with complementary software tooling rather than competing directly in the maker space category.

Regional players

• Makerversity: London-based makerspace and prototyping studio offering member access to fabrication tools, workshops, and corporate innovation programs. Comparable operating model (membership + workshops + prototyping services) but operates in the UK rather than South Africa.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TheMakerspace
• Xx.com/makerspace_za
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-makerspace-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Maker Space