MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

Acaciamy (Online Learning Platform)

One-line solution summary:

Transitioning women and young ladies into online learning education plus skill acquisition in a bid to preserve optionality.

Pitch your solution.

Women in Nigeria have had various challenges in order to obtain equal education in all forms of formal education in Nigeria .

The drop out rate of girls is higher than boys and participation in STEM classes are lower for girls than boys. In 2002, the combined gross enrollment for primary, secondary and tertiary schools for female was 57% compared to 71% for males.

In view of this we are developing an online learners platform that;

1. Connect users to local+global educational curriculum at different levels on STEM.

2. Online and In-person skill acquisition with focus on agricultural practices and Local Level alternative power generation e.g Solar & Wind

3. Internet and device equipped facility for 100 learners at a time with such barriers

4. 24/7 Support for sexual harassment, rape and abuse victim.

This solutions aims to engage the minds of our women against the vulnerabilities destroying them.

What specific problem are you solving?

The specific problem within the Challenge that we are working to solve are:

1. Female Illiteracy: In 2002, the combined gross enrollment for primary, secondary and tertiary schools for female was 57% compared to 71% for males.

The gender gap in literacy rates in 2000 at the rural level between boys and girls was 18.3 percent in favour of the boys overall. In the age group 6–9 years (primary school ages) it was 3.9 percent, 37% of disabled females are literate compared to 57% for males

2. Economic Development: The percentages of female workers in some selected professions in 2012 were: architects, 2.4%, quantity surveyors, 3.5%, lawyers/jurists, 25.4%, lecturers, 11.8%, obstetricians and gynecologists, 8.4%, pediatricians, 33.3%, media practitioners, 18.3%.

3. Rape: This is alarming, following the murder of a 22-year-old university student in a church where she was studying in the southern city of Benin

Socio economic factors contributing to the problems are what we aim to approach, education is a luxury to Nigerians, especially those in rural areas. Often the family can only afford to send one child to school. Because daughters have assumed responsibilities in the home, she is less likely to be the one to attend school.

What is your solution?

Our Solution is;

1. Develop an open learners platform in iOS, andriod and web that connect learners to stem courses and resources taught in English and explained in local languages starting with broken English and scale up to Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa.

1b. Transition Learners to global developmental courses on educational platform i.e Edx with unlimited learning resources and provide facilities where they can use the Internet and learning devices of about 100 learners per session.

2. Skill acquisition curriculum (online and offline) with focus on innovative agricultural practices and alternative local level power generation (This accounts for the 2 major problems of the nation) and positioning learners to be major players in this field and other identified Jobs of the future.

3. Provide 24/7 Support to Sexual harassment, Assault and Rape victims by guiding them on measures to take, helping to get justice via partnering relevant agencies, counseling and engagements with humans and/or conversational interfaces on our app/web, such as voice and chatbots, powered by AI.

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

According the 2006 Population distribution there are 4,394,480 total females in Lagos but we are focusing to impact 3 age categories

1. 10yrs - 14yrs = 433,231

2. 15yrs - 19yrs = 442,629

3. 20yrs - 24yrs = 538,119

which brings the total target population to 1,413,979, our online platform will be open source so we expect the usage to go beyond Lagos as we become popular.

We are currently taking surveys to understand the core need tailored to our community but if there is one thing that is common amongst the girls, its too become financial independent and successful in their careers and we notice that the career paths of some of this ladies are not consistent to the needs of our region and they end up going the easy route which is becoming a fashion designer or Makeup artist (which is now saturated), those that can't do that end up been dependent on men or getting married and live an unfulfilled life with the consolation of having kids and hope to live their dreams through the kids.

Our aim is to change this narrative, assign them to human mentors and train our conversational A.I. overtime on female Life-Patterns.

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

Strengthen competencies, particularly in STEM and digital literacy, for girls and young women to effectively transition from education to employment

Explain how the problem, your solution, and your solution’s target population relate to the Challenge and your selected dimension.

We believe our solution cuts across all Challenge dimension (even though it aligns more with Dimension 2 as our primary focus) because;

Our Open Learning Platform and in-house facilities that connects unlimited number of online users access to STEM, digital and other developmental course locally and globally, skill acquisition and practicals both on and offline (Dimension 1, 2). With the zero tolerance and societal frown against transgenders and they without fear of been stigmatized use our platform to get quality education and stand-out (Dimension-4).

Providing in-house computer, tablet and Internet access, data voucher for those with such barriers addresses (Dimension-3)

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

Igbogbo I, Nigeria

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model

Who is the primary delegate for your solution?

Omorinsola Okunuyi, LLB.