MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

Afrilearn

One-line solution summary:

Afrilearn integrates genius tutors, animators, and developers to deliver affordable, world-class education to 300 million young Africans.

Pitch your solution.

Nigeria currently has over 200million population base. Of this number, 80million (40%) can't read or write. 120million (60%) can't engage beyond religion and metaphysics. 170million (85%) can't build or create anything meaningful. Education systems across Africa are in critical crisis; it’s an emergency!

To solve this problem, Afrilearn offers richly animated and curriculum-relevant video lessons, class notes, practice tests, live classes and a personalized social learning dashboard that empower high/secondary school students (Ages 12-25) to study at their unique pace in and outside classroom via our affordable Web and App subscription.

To scale Afrilearn for underserved children in low-connectivity areas, we are producing a data-free Dongle device that allows users to access our vast library of content without the internet, anytime, anywhere, on any device.

After taking Afrilearn to market across West Africa, in the next three years, we plan to adapt the product for the East Africa launch.

Film your elevator pitch.

What specific problem are you solving?

We all know that a large unskilled population is dangerous liability for any nation. Unfortunately, as I write, over 263 million young Africans are out of school while, in Nigeria, 83% of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) candidates fail the exam.

Nigeria currently has over 200 million population base. Of this number, 80 million (40%) can't read or write. 120 million (60%) can't engage beyond religion and metaphysics. 170 million (85%) can't build or create anything meaningful simply because access and affordability to quality education is an illusion. Education systems across Africa are in critical crisis; it’s an emergency!

What is your solution?

To solve this problem, Afrilearn integrates genius tutors, animators and developers to deliver richly animated and curriculum-relevant video lessons, class notes, practice tests, live classes and a personalized learning dashboard that empower high/secondary school students (Ages 12-22) to study at their unique pace in and outside the classroom.

Every day, the Afrilearn studios host expert tutors who teach different subjects in front of cameras. These genius tutors simplify difficult subjects and topics in entertaining ways, resulting in thousands of engaging video lessons covering the government-approved curricula. This helps learners to assimilate easily because whatever we learn with pleasure, we never forget.

These video lessons are then developed into engaging animation and deployed for users’ subscriptions through App, Web and data-free Dongle services at highly affordable rates for secondary school students (between ages 12 to 22) across Anglophone West Africa, a market of effectively over 300 million people.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

The Afrilearn solution directly serves the over 300 million high/secondary school students and out-of-school children between ages 12-22, across Anglophone West African countries (WAEC countries) including Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and The Gambia.

Their pain points include illiteracy, incompetent teachers, low school grades, exam failure, lack of access to education, unaffordability and inaccessibility to quality education, and poor engagement methods.

In the United States, the teacher-to-student ratio is about 1-10. In India, it is 1-19, and considered bad. In most parts of Nigeria, our teacher-to-student ratio is 1-70, and in many cases, the available teacher lacks the competence to deliver quality education.

Education forms the most critical part of any human's life because whatever goes into our minds determines the quality of our lives.

For this audience, Afrilearn is actively improving access to education by leveraging seasoned teachers, animators, and developers to deliver affordable, fun, and world-class learning experiences.⠀

If we are to stick with the brick-and-mortar system, it would take us decades and centuries to deliver education across Nigeria and the African continent. This is because even if the government were super-efficient, it could not catch up with the enormous demand and swiftly increasing educational needs of the populace.

Therefore, the best and most scalable opportunity for us to deliver affordably available world-class education is through a technology-based solution like Afrilearn.

Easily the Netflix of Education for Africans, Afrilearn’s social impact cuts across SDGs 1, 4, 8 & 17.

The global ed-tech market is projected to reach $341billion by 2025 and Afrilearn is well-positioned to be a catalyst fueling this growth in Africa. Therefore, an investment in Afrilearn is an investment in Africa’s future.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Increase the engagement of learners in remote, hybrid, and physical environments, including strategies and tools for parental support, peer interaction, and guided independent work.

Explain how the problem you are addressing, the solution you have designed, and the population you are serving align with the Challenge.

Some children learn best by watching videos, some by reading class notes, some by solving practice problems, and some by social collaboration. Beyond blending storytelling, social learning, and supplementary tech skills content, Afrilearn gives every child access to personalized learning using the unique method that works best for them.

Afrilearn leverages iterative profiles for Students, Schools, Teachers and Parental support alongside peer interaction, imaginative play, social collaborative projects, and personalized learning.

Our vast, culture-specific education video library is also synchronized for compression optimized video streaming, offline download and playback on any device, with affordable monthly, quarterly, and annual subscription packages.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Lagos, Nigeria

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in one or, ideally, several communities, which is poised for further growth.

Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution.

Afrilearn has fully completed the development of its widely-loved personalized education product and already serving several thousands of students, teachers, parents, and schools across Nigeria with a solid plan to accelerate growth.

However, while Afrilearn is currently growing organically at an exciting rate with 7000+ users, and we could easily continue in this form, we realized we could jeopardize the opportunity to solve a continental problem if we do not seek the right support for scale at such a time as this.

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Isaac Oladipupo