Angaza Elimu

Traditional learning and teaching models have failed to cater for students learning needs. Teachers are overwhelmed by routine administrative tasks and large volumes of classes. A case study of Kenya where:

• Literacy and numeracy rates are still a year below grade level, with less than a third of children in Grade 3 having basic Grade 2 level skills.

• The pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) in public primary schools has been reported to be 56:1, against a recommended PTR  of 40:1

Angaza Elimu addresses these challenges through an AI powered adaptive eLearning platform which delivers personalized and mastery based learning experiences to students and amplifies their engagement with teachers. We provide teachers with a supportive tool to identify students' specific needs and help deliver personalized/customized instruction. This platform further automates administrative tasks like routine assessments, monitoring progress hence saving teachers time helping them spend more time with students on instruction.

Education in Africa is plagued with the challenges of quality and relevance:

• Sub- Saharan Africa(SSA) still has more than 30 million children who are not receiving any form of schooling.

• More than 40% of school going children in SSA are not meeting basic learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

• It's estimated that by 2035 the number of Africans joining the workforce will exceed that of the rest of the world combined but SSA’s education systems are not meeting current workforce needs.

The introduction of free primary and secondary education in Kenya has exposed the operational failures of the education system:

• Literacy and numeracy rates are still a year below grade level, with less than a third of children in Grade 3 having basic Grade 2 level skills.

• Two in ten Grade 7 students do not have Grade 2 level literacy and numeracy competencies.

• Only 1 in every 10 students have access to quality educational resources.

• Additionally, it does not provide a strong foundation for developing skills in science, technology, arts and innovation.

These statistics reveal the dire state of the current Kenyan education system, which leaves its citizens ill-prepared for the workforce. 

Angaza Elimu addresses the challenges mentioned above  through an AI powered adaptive and interactive eLearning platform which delivers personalized and mastery based learning experiences to students and amplifies teacher student engagement. This model overcomes the traditional model of learning and teaching where students are taught in the same way, using the same materials and at the same speed. We believe every student is unique and deserves personalized learning that meets their own specific needs and our AI model is able to understand students' mastery gaps and customize each of their learning paths. We provide teachers with a supportive tool to identify students' specific needs and help deliver personalized/customized instruction. This platform further automates administrative tasks like routine assessments, monitoring progress and generating reports hence saving teachers time helping them spend more time with students on instruction. Parents get instant notifications about their children's performance and engage with teachers instantaneously contributing to factual targeted constructive feedback. 

Angaza Elimu is primed primed to transform education across Kenya and beyond by addressing the challenges of quality and relevance. Our sole purpose is to ensure that every child has access to quality and relevant education on demand. We also support teachers who are key stakeholders in the ecosystem. Currently we are working in Kenya serving more than 33,500 students in primary and secondary schools. One of our key focus areas is serving the less privileged communities and we are currently serving more than 5500 students in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in Kenya.

 In the three years that the company has been operational we have created notable impact across different education stakeholders as follows:

• 21k+ students have recorded an average improvement of 24% in overall academic performance. Key improvements have been recorded in English, Mathematics and Science subjects.

• 14k+ students have gained concrete skills needed to succeed in the 21st century workforce and as entrepreneurs who can lead to an increase in productivity and drive economic growth.

• 1398 teachers have been trained on the right eLearning pedagogy skills and this has greatly improved teaching outcomes

• Teachers have saved 45,900+ minutes by reduced administrative tasks, such as routine assessments, monitoring progress, and generating progress reports, instead focusing on personalized instruction. 

• Parents have saved more than $78K+ by subscribing their children on our platform instead of buying textbooks hence reducing the financial barriers to educational resources.

For the successful implementation of any intervention in the classroom teachers should be the core implementors. At Angaza Elimu we empower teachers through capacity development training programs which equip them with the right pedagogy skills with a goal of improving learning and teaching outcomes. Through our eLearning platform teachers are able to identify students' specific needs and help deliver personalized/customized instruction. This platform further automates administrative tasks like routine assessments, monitoring progress hence saving teachers time helping them spend more time with students on instruction. Teachers are able to engage with parents instantaneously to get factual constructive feedback. 

In the three years we have been operational we have made great strides in the following areas:

• Traction: we have managed to reach 33k+ students with our interactive eLearning platform in addition to another 16k+ students through our Innovators STEAME program built to equip students with relevant 21st century skills.

• Impact: we have created a notable impact across the different education stakeholders in the following ways: Students have recorded an average improvement of 24% in overall academic performance, Teachers have saved 45,900+ minutes by reduced administrative tasks, Parents have saved more than $78K+ by subscribing their children on our platform instead of buying textbooks hence reducing the financial barriers to educational resources.

• Product development: we believe in building home grown solutions for local markets. Our eLearning product has evolved from a basic web app offering revision materials to an interactive and adaptive platform giving students a personalized learning experience.
  

Traditional learning and teaching models have failed to cater for students learning needs. Teachers are overwhelmed by routine administrative tasks and large volumes of classes. 

Emerging technologies like AI(Artificial Intelligence) powered eLearning models have proved to be of great help in meeting students specific learning needs and supporting teachers to spend more time providing personalized instruction hence helping each student achieve their full potential. Our AI powered interactive and adaptive eLearning platform delivers personalized and mastery based learning experiences to students and amplifies teacher student engagement. Our offline interactive mobile application allows users to access all functionalities even when not connected to the internet. This saves them from spending financial resources on the expensive internet.

We have managed to reach 33079 students with our interactive eLearning platform in addition to another 16934 students through our Innovators STEAME product. In the next five years we aim to reach the following students with the following market penetration plan

• Year 1:171,500

• Year 2: 421,500

• Year 5: 1,021,500

To achieve our impact goals we track our growth metrics under three segments:

• User growth: improving user growth and conversion

• User engagement: improving the product stickiness with a keen focus on content consumption and active time usage metrics

• Revenue generation: with improved user growth and product stickiness we expect to grow our revenue numbers.

With a positive improvement on the three segments this results to many users on the platform obtaining maximum value from the product designed to help the improve the learning and teaching outcomes.

Full-time: 13

Part-time: 6

Angaza Elimu has been made possible by an incredible young talented team drawing diverse and extensive experience from the education, technology and business fields: 

• Kiko Muuo: CEO: Responsible for overall strategy and operations. Utilizes his business modelling, market research & analysis and product management skills to establish Angaza Elimu as a leading EdTech enterprise.

• Shawn Cliff: CTO: Leads the tech team in developing the interactive eLearning platforms. Has advanced technical skills in software engineering.

• Vida Brenda: Business development lead: Leads the sales team in initiating, developing and closing sales deals. She brings onboard deep experience in sales and marketing.

• Kevin Odero: Customer success lead: Owns and manages customer/user success after activation. Has advanced skills in customer service management

• Regina Chege: Content development lead: Leads the content team in developing and curating quality digital content. Brings extensive skills in content designs and development.

• Valerie Githio: Innovators STEAME lead: leads the skills development unit in building and fabricating STEAME kits and content. Has advanced skills in electrical and electronics engineering.

We have a huge responsibility as an impact driven company to build and grow an inclusive team with a goal of contributing to the growth of the economy. We have a set of hiring guidelines that help us towards achieving this as shown below:

• Offer equal employment opportunities free of any nature of discrimination: colour, gender, age, physical abilities, religion

• Exercise all reasonable care, diligence and mutual respect during the employment period; and will not tolerate harassment, coercion, sexual exploitation or abuse of any form.

• Never divulge confidential data of any employee

• Abide by local laws in all matters.

Funding: we will deploy the funds to improve and scale our work in the underserved communities: refugee camps, arid and semi arid areas. We aim to build a sustainable model in serving these regions with the ultimate goal of driving maximum impact and closing the digital divide gap.

Product and market development support: we aim to tap in the solve network of experts and mentors to help is in high level product and market strategy with a goal of helping us reach scale and drive maximum impact to our beneficiaries.

Product development: we are aiming to develop a more robust adaptive personalized eLearning platform leveraging on educational data mining. We believe we can tap on the vast network from Solve to craft a high level product roadmap. 

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: having participated as an innovator during the MIT Solve x Gates Foundation Solveathon Workshop in February 2021 we would love to would love to connect further with the Gates Foundation as they are working to advance foundational literacy and numeracy skills in Africa.

Our goal is to reach to all students with a keen focus in bridging the digital divide. We believe that each child deserves equal education opportunity and we are committed to driving this. One of our key focus areas is serving the less privileged communities and we are currently serving more than 5500 students in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in Kenya.

Education in underserved communities like refugee camps as all education in emergency situations is faced with a myriad of challenges. These include large classroom size, over age learners, language constraints and students with special needs.

Since we set foot in the camps in August 2019 we have created a notable impact by improving the teachers capacity for handling the large classes and meeting the needs of the students while improving the literacy and numeracy outcomes. Through our educational data mining model we have also provided real time data to our partner organization WUSC to support evidence based decision making in improving education interventions.

We are looking for more resources to expand our work in the refugee camps. We intend to reach extra 6000 students in both camps and their host communities. The Digital Inclusivity Prize will be invaluable to grow our mission of serving and impacting the less privileged students.

Through our Innovators  STEAME(Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math and Entrepreneurship) hands on training program we will deliver in demand technical and professional skills to girls either as students or out of school youth. This program is further supported by having an inclusive ecosystem of linking the students and youth to the industry. Our implementation approach is via two tracks: ready to work: to best serve the industry demands we will deliver speciality training to enable entry and succession in the workforce and entrepreneurship track: trainees get relevant technical and professional skills to help create and build successful businesses.

Innovativeness of the model: we have built an inclusive ecosystem to drive maximum impact in the program by linking the students and youth to the industry. Players in the ecosystem play the following roles:

• Angaza Elimu: provide a hands on training on technical and professional skills under STEAME themes

• Industry: this includes corporates who provide technology and innovation resources, job placements and apprenticeships

• Academia and Out of School Youth organizations: provide access to the trainees and onsite training venues

Interactive eLearning platform to offer a self paced and continuous learning schedule allowing learners to learn at their own pace.

Yes

Traditional learning and teaching models have failed to cater for students learning needs. Teachers are overwhelmed by routine administrative tasks and large volumes of classes. 

Emerging technologies like AI(Artificial Intelligence) powered eLearning models have proved to be of great help in meeting students specific learning needs and supporting teachers to spend more time providing personalized instruction hence helping each student achieve their full potential. Our AI powered interactive eLearning platform delivers personalized and mastery based learning experiences to students and amplifies teacher student engagement.

We continue to leverage AI to ensure that every student has access to quality and relevant education on demand. This results in improved learning outcomes and equipping students with relevant skills needed to succeed in the 21st century workforce and as entrepreneurs who can lead to an increase in productivity and drive economic growth.