Talafrica Initiative

We will provide professional skills to last-year university students. There is a mismatch between company's needs and skills available in the market. Hence, we prepare a workforce that is adaptable to the changing world while promoting entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship and technological practices in developing countries.

Our solution is a pre-professional program to be taken by last-year undergraduate students before entering the professional world. The program will be designed using global challenges, companies' goals and Sustainable Development Goals for it to match the specific needs of the environment where the users are located. In this context, graduates will gain skills required by the 21st century, digitization and specific companies they are most passionate about. 

If scaled, my solution will eliminate the mismatch that exists between companies and the labor-force available in the market. Companies will spend less on learning and development, individuals will be matched with jobs that match with their skills and innovation will be unleashed in developing countries given our focus on teaching skills in an entrepreneurial way. In this context, the gap between skills and jobs and the one between development goals and capabilities will be massively reduced.

The principal problem our solution solves unemployment and "vulnerable" jobs, which are due to a poor preparation to the changing professional world. Specifically, we are solving:

- the poor educational backgrounds many graduates from developing countries have, starting from sub-saharan Africa

- high costs by companies for learning and development

- Inability to achieve a level of development due to lack of talents and 21st century's and futuristic skills

- non-access to modern educational facilities and lack of stronger connection between employers and the market

- lack of entrepreneurial spirit in most developing countries

- poor network between graduates from different countries

A part from our strong passion for education and business, we are performing a deeper research on company's needs, countries's plans and visions. We come from seven different African countries and we understand cross-cultural behaviors. We will thus be able to connect our members to one another to leverage their skills while networking.

Talafrica is adaptable to local educational systems and professional environments, as a strategy to contribute to the development of each industry in every country. Moreover, the use of digitization in our solution such as a mobile app with offline educational materials makes the program accessible from anywhere.

Main target: Last-year undergraduate students from ANY university and youth from developing countries

Means and Strategies:

- For faraway universities: School's dorms for orientation and initiation to our technology

- For everyone: customized mobile application with updates about the program content, employers and companies, and general professional opportunities

- Online courses with online customized mentorship and connection to different companies

- Impact: less costs by companies, decent jobs, technological innovation and entrepreneurship

Our database and app log in details - At least 80% of students reached physically use our app.

Subscriptions to customized program - 100% of users of our customized program get internships, support towards finding jobs and mentorship

Company's constant feedback - 100% of our graduates perform well in their respective companies

My solution is innovation because it is a network of all young graduates who aspire to embrace the professional career, a network accessible via any technological means such as laptop, phone, face-to-face... On the other hand, having the program content in an offline version of the app will help anyone, with access or not to internet, to learn necessary skills to become competitive in the professional environment. Also, the program and the skills learnt will be customized according to personal needs and companies' expectations. 

With a step to reach the students in their school's dorms, the program is less likely to miss its target. A digital marketing strategy would not reach students from Kibirizi village in DR Congo. However, having  a team to go there and put the app in their phones is one of options that will help us reach faraway regions. Hence, this program is different from traditional online courses platforms in the sense that the target is specific and the underlying mental power behind the concept is deploying the solution to the real and targeted users.

The solution will be accessed via a website with a content made from companies' recommendations.

The solution will also be access via an android and IOS app for users to get the content, benefit from mentorship and connect with other users from any where they would be. For the community with limited access to internet, the program would either be taken in a physical training center with full internet access or via an extended app that does not need internet bundles to be accessed. Hence, everyone will be able to access the solution and subscribe to customized premium plans.

The plan is to perform a fundraising program, find partners and investors throughout. However, we also benefit from our ability to collect information from our respective countries as we are from seven different countries, and from different companies and entrepreneurs we have connections with. In that way, we are still getting useful insights from the market, while facing different challenges relating to finance. Nonetheless, we are need of partners and supporters throughout the phases of growth.

The factors limiting the ability of our solution to success could include countries with strict regulations relating to education. In a scenario where a country does not allow an extra program to be held in the school's dorms, it would be a challenge to reach the students with no access to either internet or cell phones. Nonetheless, we would provide them with access to mobile phones so that they can take the program online. 

Other factors may include insecurity and conservatism. However, our research and development team is framing practical strategies for those markets.

https://www.facebook.com/talafrica.initiative/?fref=ts

At Solve, I will benefit from a excellent mentorship from leaders with expertise in education, business and entrepreneurship. I will also get connected to experts who will help me design the content of my solution. Given my passion for change, entrepreneurship and network, Solve is ideal for me to leverage my creativity and tackle world's biggest challenges. Hence, Solve is a community where I will be pushed to always go beyond the human horizon and work towards what I am ready to die for.

Our current partners are the African Leadership University, a world-class university that prepare the future generation of African Leaders, and Banza Magazine, a start-up that connects companies to their customers through a magazine.

Coursera, edX, Udemy... and the Nigerian online courses program Slatecube.