SWL Learn

We are in an era where students view education as nothing more than passing exams and teachers think of their role as merely a duty. In Ghana, 80 percent of children in the second grade are unable to read simple words or solve basic arithmetic problems, classrooms are overcrowded, and a change in curriculum during this pandemic has left a shortage of approved, quality educational resources.

SWL Learn is a mobile-first, STEM-based, and AR-enabled service that revolutionizes learning. It does so by reducing backpack load with virtual textbooks for K-12, providing storybooks to improve reading, and combining books with Augmented Reality to engage the senses and imagination through illustrations and interactive teaching.

When scaled globally, SWL Learn will provide quality equitable education to all youth, including those in marginalized communities, equip them with employable skills such as software programming, and prepare learners to become better functioning members of society.

Children born in Ghana today can only be expected to reach 44 percent of their potential to live and work as healthy, skilled, and productive adults.

Largely, the education system in Ghana and Africa has placed little or no emphasis on the practicality of knowledge acquired in the classroom. The result? A vast number of graduates, who are diffident in their ability to solve real-life problems. The practical skills needed to render graduates employable are either lacking or do not match employer demands. Secondly, there is the need to cater for marginalized groups (such as those who get pregnant by choice or rape or play care-giver roles and cannot physically be in school). Clearly, there is the need to rethink education if the status quo must be challenged. 

Additionally, COVID-19 has thrown the world into the most unexpected global challenge ever experienced since World War II. All forms of human endeavor have been affected, including education. The pandemic launched the world into a “new normal”; we must now begin to necessarily adopt new ways of doing things. This is where technology functions as the force making the impossible possible. Technology cuts through all spheres of human-endeavor; education is no exception.

SWL Learn is a revolutionary learning experience for everyone any day, anytime and anyplace; right in the palm of your hand.

Delivering our services via mobile devices brings remote learning into the accessible domain of many more learners.

By digitizing curriculum based textbooks for K-12, backpack load can be reduced and parents can conveniently have the textbooks their wards require especially when they cannot afford all their physical textbooks.

Combining virtual textbooks with educational video resources, further enhances the learning experience and gives marginalized and other disadvantaged groups the opportunity to enjoy formal education.

Our curated list of e-storybooks for different age groups helps improve reading, engage senses through illustrations and teach values and morals such as empathy, curiosity and collaboration to prepare learners to live more wholistic lives in society.  

Providing physical versions of textbooks and storybooks as well and harnessing the camera capabilities of mobile devices, we bring educational content to life with Augmented Reality. This provides an immersive and creative-thinking environment for practical learning.

Including our own software pseudo-programming language; "Protocode", gives learners a vital employable skill. 

Leveraging the DEXT Science set provides the experience of portable robotics technology and science experiments, promoting STEM education.

Our target population encompasses children in K-12, especially those in overcrowded classrooms who are not able to get the needed attention to maximize their potential, marginalized and disadvantaged groups who do not have access to formal education.

We seek to promote the cause of "Rethinking Education"; we seek to make education practical, experiential and empowering in a rapidly-evolving world. We believe in making education affordable and available to all - none should be denied access to quality education, or miss the opportunity to gain employable skills such as software programming.

Currently, our STEM AR-enabled curriculum-based content specifically covers children in K-12. Our "Protocode" technology is for everyone - regardless of age or gender. Traditionally, in Ghana, programming is viewed as a "boyish" skill. "Protocode" affords live or self-guided on-demand lessons, where young girls can also learn to program without being stereotyped.

SWL Learn has been designed and is continually improved with the end-user in mind. The development of our solution thrives on a feedback loop from the reviews on the app, feedback from live Protocode class, and monitoring content consumption, which will incorporate AI in the near future to create a better user experience.

Outcomes - Provision of quality and equitable education to the young generation; contributing to the wholistic development of the child; encouraging learners to see education as a life-long journey; equipping the young generation, with employable skills such as software programming; challenging the status quo of the traditional education model in Ghana and Africa; increasing employment rates across the African continent; helping marginalized children to access quality learning opportunities to succeed. 

Practical learning in Africa is a challenge. In our revolutionary approach to education, we have provided Augmented Reality experiences that engage learners and stimulate imaginative thinking, teaching them to embrace technology. 

The inclusion of the DEXT Science Set offers a practical way to learn and experiment in a safe environment, that allows them to fall and try again.

“Protocode” ensures learners are equipped with software programming skills to boost their employability.

Our content can be downloaded and consumed offline.We have a long term goal of providing services to remote areas using IoT devices that run in low/no connectivity environments.

Our service is loved by all our current users and this is underscored by our 4.9 rating and impressive reviews on the Google Play store and Apple App Store.

Link to our website here

Here are some other videos that demonstrate the service.

The Full 360 of SWL Learn

Service Showcase

Augmented Reality Book Reveal

Protocode Excerpts 1

Protocode Excerpts 2

We currently have over 700 downloads on the Google Play Store from users in Ghana. We offer subscription packages for services.

The use of Augmented Reality (AR) characterizes our solution as ground-breaking. While there are other digital educational apps on the market, none employs the use of this innovative technology. At SWL Learn, we have done more than digitize books and provide educational games for students; we have gone the extra mile to troubleshoot the pitfalls of our current educational system and are committed to addressing the root cause. We invest in research and development and streamline our solutions to ensure that our contribution to education truly makes a difference. SWL Learn uses AR to improve upon engagement and interactivity, making the experience more relatable and enjoyable for the students as well as equipping them with practical know-how to become competent community contributors.

Additionally, our "Protocode" technology is our response to thinking outside the box. We seek to introduce programming to students at an early age, so they can be STEM-oriented. Software programming is fast becoming a required skill for the global job market and we are committed to empowering our young generation for the future. We seek to demystify the notion of programming being a “boyish thing”; girls too must be equipped with these skills to meet the demands of the ever-changing job market.

We currently have over 700 downloads on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store with a rating of 4.9. We seek to scale by marketing to at least 500,000 downloads in a year and 8 million downloads in 5 years.

Goal 1.

 Measure: Number of people with disabilites using the application.

Target: 100,000 

Source: Internally generated data on number of people identifying as disabled.

Frequency: Quaterly

Goal 2.

Measure: Customer satisfaction

Target: 90%

Source: Mail-based survey

Frequency: Monthly

Goal 3.

Measure: Customer satisfaction

Target: 4.9

Source: Google review

Frequency: Monthly

Goal 4.

Measure: Number of books in library

Target:500,000

Source: App database

Frequency: Yearly

Goal 5.

Measure: Number of new platforms 

Target: 20

Source: Internal data

Frequency: Quaterly

Goal 6.

Measure: Number of new extra practice content

Target: 50,000

Source: App database

Frequency: Monthly

Full-time - 2
Part-time - 3

As the Executive Director and Lead Software Developer for SWL Learn, I have 5 years experience in developing cross-platform mobile applications that run on iOS and Android. This experience and exposure has made it possible for me to single handedly develop the frontend and backend server of this innovative application. Leveraging my competent skills in software development to inculcate Augmented Reality; a feat not many have achieved, and artificial Intelligence in the form of machine learning to offer customized user experiences.
We have a strategic partnership with Sam-Woode PLC, who are well versed in manuscript publication. With our digital edge, we helped move the entire manuscript production online making the process extra convenient in these covid-plagued times. Their existing print-on-demand press is a valuable asset to us for our physical books production.
Through our strategic partnerships with DEXT Technologies, who provide us with the Science Set, Adroit Bureau Ltd, who have a cumulative software programming experience of over 40 years, and offer us with software consultancy services and Sales Horde, who are going to help us with our marketing and sales.

Diversity, equity and inclusivity form integral parts of our solution.

Our team of authors, formatters and designers are from varied ethnic, gender and socio-economic class, not discriminating against anyone but relying on their vast experience and perspectives to create truly meaningful services for our users.

Through internships, we work with student leaders representing different factions of students from different disciplines and age groups. We also work with private and public instructors in different capacities to improve the value of the app.

We prioritize making content relatable to target audiences by creating focus groups representing our audiences. These allow us to continually optimize the app for use by our varied audience.

 We don't discriminate on who can use our services. We continuously aim to make our app easily accessible by all ages, classes, and communities present in our society.

We hire to represent the varied landscape of users. This creates an inclusive work environment for all our members, which reflects in an inclusive environment on our app.

We want everyone to be able to enjoy and benefit fully from our services so we're constantly working to make our services more readily usable in remote areas. Our goal is to be able to produce our own devices that can run totally offline so they can be employed in the remotest areas. We seek to improve upon the current accessibility capabilities of our services for people with disabilities. We currently have quite a good amount of support for visually-impaired users of our app. 

We believe our application here will grant us constructive and collaborative partnerships with others who believe in our cause of revolutionizing and rethinking education in Africa.

We believe that these partnerships will go a long way to provide us with capital, advice, marketing and other support services that will make this a great innovation for all.

In order to achieve our objectives, we would like to seek partnerships to support us in:

1. Building constructive networks that can mentor and advise on business strategy.
2. Collaborating with us to develop even better innovative content for our service.
3. Marketing and sales of our services.
4. Providing investments or grants to further our just cause.

Partners that can support us in any of the above initiatives.

The influx of refugees in many countries, creates a general concern of they becoming a burden on the country's resources. There is also a "fear" of foreigners "stealing" jobs of citizens. Truth be told, refugees or migrants who are not economically integrated will inadvertently depend on the state. In effect, taxpayers’ money are resorted to to cater for them. To address some of these concerns, it is important to think of how refugees can be empowered to become employable. Many of these refugees come along with their children. We believe the best gift to give these young ones is education.

Should SWL Learn be awarded the Andan Prize, our financial capacity would be strengthened to do more, so we can expand our efforts to cover refugee inclusion. 

A few decades ago in Ghana, there was a lot of discrimination about education the girl-child. It was not until the late 1990's that active campaign efforts and TV commercials promoted the cause of sending your girl-child to school. While the situation has seen significant improvement, there is certainly more that can be done. 

As explained in responses to previous questions, the SWL Learn app is tailored to engage interaction and engagement in a way that is suitable for the girl-child. Girls retain information best by relating to their senses - sight, feel, touch, smell etc. Through the uses of AR, this is made possible in the app. 

Winning the Innovation for Women Prize, will strengthen our financial capacity to do more, so we can expand our efforts to advance the cause of women and girls, particularly across the African continent.

SWL Learn was born out of an intense desire to be of use to society and the world at large. Our problem-solving attitude keeps us going. SWL Learn App is a solution that is beyond our personal interest. We are inspired to do what we do because we believe we can make a difference. 

We are committed to rethinking education and helping the entire African continent do the same. We envision the world being a better place, because we invested in giving our children quality education.

We believe that being awarded the Future Planet Capital Prize will grant us the following:

1. Networking opportunities to connect with the world’s largest investors to profitably address global challenges.

2. $200,000 in investment funds. With this, our financial capacity will be strengthened to scale up our efforts on a global scale. 

SWL Learn was born out of an intense desire to be of use to society and the world at large. Our problem-solving attitude keeps us going. SWL Learn App is a solution that is beyond our personal interest. We are inspired to do what we do because we believe we can make a difference. 

We are committed to rethinking education and helping the entire African continent do the same. We envision the world being a better place, because we invested in giving our children quality education.

We believe that being awarded the Future Planet Capital Prize will grant us the following:

1. Networking opportunities to connect with the world’s largest investors to profitably address global challenges.

2. $200,000 in investment funds. With this, our financial capacity will be strengthened to scale up our efforts on a global scale. 

SWL Learn was born out of an intense desire to be of use to society and the world at large. Our problem-solving attitude keeps us going. SWL Learn App is a solution that is beyond our personal interest. We are inspired to do what we do because we believe we can make a difference. 

We are committed to rethinking education and helping the entire African continent do the same. We envision the world being a better place, because we invested in giving our children quality education.

We believe that being awarded the Future Planet Capital Prize will grant us the following:

1. Networking opportunities to connect with the world’s largest investors to profitably address global challenges.

2. $200,000 in investment funds. With this, our financial capacity will be strengthened to scale up our efforts on a global scale.