MIT Solve

Step 2

Our Solution

Bits Academy-Transforming Lives Through Technology

Our solution's stage of development:

Pre-Seed

Our solution:

The goal of Bits Academy is to economically empower vulnerable youth from informal settlements within Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Somaliland by offering a blended training that gives the beneficiaries a competitive edge in the job and freelance market as designers and developers in the IT, app development and design industry.

Our pitch:

The dynamic and fast growing ICT sector offers great job opportunities, especially for young people who grow up in the digital age. Seizing the moment, Butterfly Works set up NairoBits in Nairobi, Kenya in 1999. The first Bits school, of many more to come. More then 15 years later, the Bits Schools trained over 7000 youth in many different countries in Africa and South East Asia. Now it is time to start Bits Global, a secretariat to unite the Bits Schools conquer the world by making market relevant ICT, entrepreneurial, creative and life skills training accessible for the less priviliged youth all over the world.

So, what is Bits Academy about? The Bits schools train youth from underprivileged backgrounds in ICT, app development, entrepreneurial, creative and life skills. The Bits Academy curriculum is uniquely adapted to the market demands, teaching the skills that are needed for young people to secure a job or start their own business. Training in creative, digital, business and life skills Young people from underprivileged backgrounds face a number of challenges in finding employment or starting their own business.

The Bits schools address these challenges and have been effective in educating youth to generate an income. For the training, students are selected on the basis of their motivation and commitment to the community rather than existing skills. To prepare them with the relevant skills, the programme offers a wide range of disciplines; from programming to visual design, brand development, photography and video making. A strong entrepreneurship and life skills component prepare students for the world of (self-) employment. The Bits schools work closely with the private sector to organise internship placements and real-life client assignments. It gives students more self-esteem and encourages businesses to rethink their initial prejudice towards people from underprivileged backgrounds.

The problem:

Africa, the world’s youngest region, continues to be confronted with high levels of unemployment, vulnerable employment and working poverty with little signs of potential recovery in 2017, according to http://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/youth/2016/WCMS_513739/lang--en/index.htm. Young people in Africa today live in complex and challenging times. They experience difficulties in initial workforce entry. This is attributed to lack of information, networks and connections among youth; especially youth from families lacking significant social capital; lack of skills relevant to the workplace; lack of experience and credentials that address employers’ risk in making hiring commitments and lack of available jobs suited to entry-level skills.

Why our solution will solve the problem:

Since 1999, Bits schools have trained over 7,000 young people in various African countries. More than 80% gained employment or started a business themselves. Bits alumni give guest lectures and perform at events such as TEDX. They inspire new students and set in motion a wider positive change in their communities. The above shows that Bits Academy has proven to be a training that equipes youth with relevant skills and gets them into decent jobs. The key to this succes? Learning by doing, playfull competition, combination of technical & social skills, relevance and flexibility.

Who recommended you to Solve - or - how did you find Solve?

The board of Directors of Nairobits Trust

Step 3

Step 4

The technologies we employ:

Consumer-facing software (mobile applications, cloud services)
Digital systems (machine learning, control systems, big data)
Management & design approaches

Why our solution is unique:

The three core values of the Bits Academy are innovation (continous update on new trends in ICT and design related fields), relevance (checking with local industry what skills are needed and a lot of learning by doing) and creativity (out of the box thinking and challenges are incorporated in the project work). This, combined with the learning platform that we created in G Suite combines the richness of online resources with the ease of offline courses in places where internet is not a reliable factor makes Bits Academy unique.

Why our solution is human-centered:

On the platform, students can work on their projects, see the progress in their courses, indulge in discussions, share their learning experiences, assess themselves by doing exercises and build a portfolio to showcase their talents. Trainers can share their courses and resources with each other, keep track of the progress of each student and immediately translate new market trends into new lesson plans. Also the market research and types of internships are captured on the platform. All this information feeds back into adjustments in the courses to keep those relevant for the market and the students.

How people will access our solution:

The Bits schools work through Community Based Organisations in recruiting and selecting the youth that enroll. These students pay a small commitment fee. And after they become successfull they pay back (mainly in kind) to the school. The Bits schools are located in central places between the different communities they are recruiting students from to reduce travel costs for the students. Also most offices have one or more satellite offices in the largest informal settlements to make the training easier accessible.

Technology-Readiness Level:

6-8 (Demonstration)

Our website

http://bitsacademy.org/home.html

Step 5

Our organization:

Non-Profit

Where we are located:

Netherlands

How we will sustain our team financially:

The Bits schools started in 2000 with the establishment of Nairobits in Kenya. Since then the concept was copied to other countries. The concept has proven itself but to sustain it is necessary to scale up. The individual schools, but also as a network to profit from global opportunities and to keep on learning from each other and keep the quality of the training high. For this Bits Global is about to be established as a secretariat to facilitate learning, efficiency and explore global opportunities for all Bits schools worldwide. The Bits schools will contribute to be part of Bits Global, and Bits Global will search for funds, donations, sponsorships and partnerships with the private, educational and financial sector. The individual Bits Schools sustain themselves through fundraising, donations, students fees and payed assignments.

The factors limiting our success:

The capacity of each Bits school to scale up is a risk. Also the fact that conducting the training is quite expensive because of the length (1 year) and the blended approach (online and offline with a trainer) is a challenge. Another risk is the market being saturated. Although we think this risk is minimal looking at the growth in the ICT and design industry and the rapid change of the market. As long as the training is kept up to date this risk is mitigated.

How long we have been working on our solution: