Abiro app from Backspace Ivy

*Backspace Ivy* will have an open-source educational platform called* *_Abiro_* designed to provide offline access to a curated and openly licensed content library with pedagogical support tools for use in low-resource and low-connectivity contexts.

Our educational software, distribution and free access model makes open educational resources available in areas without or limited stationed internet access and connectivity to especially steer Girls in STEM, Women in Technology and young people in digital learning.

We are addressing the challenge of the lack of access to digital learning resources to underrepresented groups of people(Girls, Women & Young people in remote settings. Its evident that,despite efforts to redress the balance over the last 20 years, girls and women still face barriers to digital training, experience, careers and opportunities due to their gender. 

Read the report: Digital Empowerment of Girls Not only does this digital gender gap exist, it has grown wider in recent years. The gap between men and women using the internet has grown from 11% to 11.6% between 2011 and 2017. Women are on average 10% less likely to own a mobile phone than men with the gap being widest in South Asia at an alarming 26%. 

As digital participation grows across the globe, the sizeable gender gap in access to technology in certain countries is a stark reminder of the inequality between men and women. 

This must be addressed with safe and equal access to education and skills training, but also by tackling the stereotypes and social expectations that hold girls back from technology subjects and careers, that's why our solution solves the digital gap.

The  *_Abiro app_* ecosystem is  designed to easily integrate .The Ecosystem will  include:

1. *_Abiro_* an offline, lightweight distributed learning platform with tools to support differentiated and personalized learning.
2. *_Abiro Studio_* , a web-based tool for curriculum alignment and incorporation with new resources.

3. *_Abiro Content Library_ ,* an offline educational library of both formal (e.g. formative assessments, interactive textbooks) and exploratory (e.g. games, reading books) educational materials and video content , available to all users of Abiro and Abiro Studio.
4. *_Abiro Content Pipeline_* , a set of software products that support automated processes to aggregate content from external sources and integrate it into Abiro Studio, helping to build out the Abiro Library.
5. *_Abiro Edutech Toolkit_* , a customizable set of resources to support understanding how to implement *_Abiro_* to create effective learning environments in a do-it-yourself model.
6. *_Abiro Data Portal_* , a central online platform for aggregation of Abiro learner data, to guide and support implementations involving  installation of the *_Abiro_* Application across multiple sites.
*_Abiro Rewards_* is a point system that rewards learners on completion of course learnings making them able to earn points that can be redeemed towards different technology goods keep them motivated.

My target population are girls, women and young people in remote/rural settings

Since digital learning is almost the only way to digital inclusion it's no doubt that bridging the gap, doesn't only end in giving access to digital learning resources but also in addressing the barriers of girls and women in remote/informal/emergency settings staying motivated to learn and giving them an opportunity to reach milestones with a point reward system that motivates them to keep learning, which our solution provides.

In Uganda the gender gap in education is still large. For digital inclusion to consider gender sensitivity, digitalization must include the underrepresented. Our solution being a female run social Innovation enterprise takes the need of women and girls in digital literacy a core goal. I myself worked in IT organization and for a long time I was anxious about technology solving problems but over time I realized it was only a matter of time that I wanted to inspire more women  to be a part of technology and that is what inspired me to partner and develop an Edutech tool app tailored for girls and women. What makes my solution different is it's an app, designed, by a woman, for women and girls with love. This in essence makes it easier to talk to women and gis about it since it's an idea done by a woman just like them.

Currently I am not aware of any competition but the uniqueness in this solution is that, its designed to give access to digital learning to women and girls who lack access and transition them from learning soft computer science skills and applying them in jobs and enterprises that they plan on start up one day.

In the development of this solution we shall be developing an Andriod app using java with abit of AI in auto selection for the learning materials that they may require.

I myself will be going back to school in the fall to study Data Science and how I can use it to impact lives and solve problems related to bridging the digital gender gap.

We shall use Java to develop the solution but AI and machine learning is among the resources that the girls and women will be trained.

With the interactions I have had with several organisations like Plan International, Norwegian Refugee Council, Compassion, UN Women, Straight Talk Foundation to mention but a few have already endorsed the project of digital inclusion of women and girls and  am confident this project will be impactful and a huge success in digitalization of the underrepresented.

Empirical Evidence below.

Read the report: Digital Empowerment of Girls Not only does this digital gender gap exist, it has grown wider in recent years. The gap between men and women using the internet has grown from 11% to 11.6% between 2011 and 2017. Women are on average 10% less likely to own a mobile phone than men with the gap being widest in South Asia at an alarming 26%. 

As digital participation grows across the globe, the sizeable gender gap in access to technology in certain countries is a stark reminder of the inequality between men and women. 

This must be addressed with safe and equal access to education and skills training, but also by tackling the stereotypes and social expectations that hold girls back from technology subjects and careers, that's why our solution solves the digital gap.

I am currently working with Compassion International concluding our initiation with 100,000 young people including girls and boys 

In the next year, we hope to reach 250,000 young people, girls and women inclusive as we are partnering with organisations as well.

In five years we hope to reach 1.5 million people inclusive of young people, girls and women

Within this year, regardless of COVID-19 pandemic we hope to have a prototype of the app in the next 10 to 12 weeks, when funding is available but the traditional digital learning delivery will be initiated and continued. This solution will be scaled to a web based version as well to give access and impact lives of millions who may not have hand held devices for apps.

I financially lack the money to develop, and deploy and scale up the solution.

We are doing feasible studies to assess the cultural environment and how the assimilation into digital learning in remote areas will go and at what level of literacy has been done to these end users by NGOs doing literacy and capacity building ventures.

I am ready and willing to partner with organisations that are doing capacity building and literacy training to include digital learning in their programming.

For Profit.

4 fulltime

2 part time 

1 contract 

Of the 4 fulltime, only two are currently working, My developer is an experienced software engineer home grown from East Africa who has worked on solutions for refugees and underrepresented groups of people for the last 5 years.

I my self I am a seasoned professional having worked in IT and an advocate for diversity and inclusion solutions for women and girls, so I understand the challenge we are addressing.

Compassion International, we are in the middle stages of delivering the digital learning resources once the lockdown of the pandemic is lifted. We hope to implement with them starting traditionally in August for their 100,000 plus orphans( underrepresented groups)

We are a social Innovation enterprise offering free access to digital learning resources  and for revenue depends on the numbers we do charge a small subsizided admin fee to help us deliver the resources per learner but the actual learning resources are free. Our partnership with organisations then provides a better basis to skill the underserved.

First of all, for us to create a mobile app, that is a tool that can be easily downloaded on mobile devices is a great way to do a self paced learning. But we want to scale it up and make a web based version where computer centres in district offices/institutions can allow access tho these underrepresented people to be able to access their resources.

We have talked to organisations that want to construct computer centres and have digital learning access a part of their programs, so offering our solutions to their centres can be at a  rented platform rate of they can purchase it and even incorporate any other curriculum that they may want to integrate, in the long run through that we shall be able to sustain our enterprise and cover our expenses.

I am applying to Solve so that am able to address the challenge of women and girls lacking access to digital learning materials and thus bridge the digital gap in remote setting by offering them free access to digital learning resources and include them in the digital era and online technology as a whole. These resources will provide the girls and women with skills to better manage their enterprises and also become more employable in the future 

I will be more than happy to work together with partners in order to have more impact in terms of high numbers registering and partaking  the online digital learning to help the girls and women gain skills that can make them more employable and also startup and manage their own enterprises. 

I don't have specific names but am open to people/institutions partnering to help in driving the agenda to bridge the digital gap.

My digital learning access solutions is for remote and underserved communities especially refugees.

Having to come from the Northern part of Uganda where refugee camps are the order of the day, I feel like this solution will be a unifying factor between host and refugee communities to forge a more inclusive service/good- Technology amidst themselves and and enhance inclusion.

We would  set up Women Innovation Labs that will help these girl and women  share experiences and knowledge on how to be included in the digital era

I run a female led IT Consulting and social Innovation enterprise who focus is to help girls and women gain access to digital learning resources and bridge the digital gap, so am confident I fit to get this prize.

My solution for inclusion of girls and women in digital training is to help the become more employable and also help them access resources that can help them start up and manage their enterprises that will in the longrun lead to economic growth.

I would like to use AI, machine learning in this, project as am returning to school to study Data Science to understand better how I can help these underrepresented girls and women use knowledge learnt from the resources to become more impactful in their communities.