In a world where everything is being digitalized, it is vital to keep up with the technological transformation but, when you deliver services in remote areas with very poor access to the Internet, you must face several difficulties. This applies well to Distance Learning; DL, in fact, is a great opportunity for people that do not have the chance of living in big cities and do not normally have the possibility to access nor face-to-face courses, neither live online classes.
E4Impact Foundation, together with Teyuto S.R.L, accepted this challenge and, thanks to the sponsorship of Fondazione Cariplo and Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, started the project “Distance Learning in African remote areas”. The aim of the project was to develop and implement an agile and accessible ICT technology platform capable of delivering distance learning and training in remote areas, by processing and arranging the contents to be transferred to the recipients.
When the project started in 2019, the most important choice to be made was in what country the platform should have been implemented first. Given the calendar of courses, the fact that the available materials were mainly in English and the quality of the Internet connection, the choice fell on Ghana and Sudan. At this point, in order to immediately feed the platform with usable material, E4Impact has chosen to enhance the video lessons already delivered within the MBAs, registered its own faculty, and other training pills used in previous editions. Once that the materials were made available, the first accounts of the entrepreneurs were created. E4Impact’s staff was trained by Teyuto S.R.L both through the release of a platform usage guide and a 1:1 training with the Project Manager of E4Impact, during which the functionalities of the platform were illustrated from time to time to allow E4Impact to customize and implement it.
From this moment on, E4Impact has been constantly monitoring the learning level and the status of the course fruition, to have the most accurate data for the analysis of the results.
The project has turned out to be a success, with 104 accounts created and 6 courses delivered (Accounting for entrepreneurs, Business Model Design, Entrepreneurial marketing, Hr Management, Leadership, Market analysis), among which 20 video lessons of E4Impact trainers and 50 video content from previous MBA editions. Moreover, 10 videos produced and recorded by some E4Impact’s Alumni in which they share their experiences.
In the next years, the platform will be implemented in each country of the E4Impact Alliance, giving so many entrepreneurs the chance to receive a high-quality education, regardless of where they live and their Internet connection quality.