Technology Acceleration Program

Sub-Saharan Africa has the youngest and fastest-growing population across the globe. This offers a major economic opportunity – a larger workforce means a more productive economy with more than 65 percent of the continent’s population being under the age of 35. However, a misalignment exists between what young people learn in school and in-demand technology skills needed in the evolving workplace. Conventional Schooling leaves an estimated 600, 000 graduates in Nigeria unemployed for five years after completing higher education. ICT Curricula is outdated compared to the fast-changing technology skills needed to compete globally. 

As digital transformation is imminent across all sectors, Technology Education providers and ICT Teachers often looked up to for solutions are also disadvantaged with little or no affordable access to continuous up-skilling. Learning technology just became expensive; less affordable and accessible to learners in low- and middle-income communities, also characterized by low internet penetration. 

With the unemployment rate at 32.5%, the future is bleak for 27 564 906 pupils presently enrolled in primary and junior secondary schools in Nigeria and more parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Consequently, Nigeria and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa face a high unemployment rate and lose out on global employment opportunities and opportunities the gig economy presents, more so a skilled workforce it needs to grow economically. A bleak future and an unproductive Workforce are imminent in the present future

TAP provides young learners (Grade 4 to 12) and technology educators in low and middle-income communities early and affordable access to an in-demand technology skill set that matches the needs of the changing workforce through its Online Interactive Platform, Physical class engagements via School Partnership and Independent TAP Learning Centers. TAP is integrated as a subject, just like "Mathematics", for School and individual enrollments term in, term out all through a learner’s study cycle from grades 4 through 12, hence providing a sustainable learning approach to match the fast-evolving technology

Through its affordable learning options, from its on-demand online and offline web and mobile interactive platform, Virtual class requests, and Physical Class requests at Partner Locations, TAP gives early access to relevant skillset (Robotics, Coding, Creative Arts, AI, and Game Development) that matches global opportunities. The TAP AI-driven search feature matches a new user’s career path to the course module(s) and curriculum. Its up-to-date project-based curriculum helps learners collaborate via the TAP community while they gain mastery of in-demand skills through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems.

To promote inclusiveness and accessibility, TAP uses its online and offline Web and Mobile application to provide easy and affordable access to Technology Education Modules for different learner types from middle- and low-income communities characterized with different internet bandwidth access. TAP users can be enrolled via school or organization, and independent self-paced learners anywhere, anytime. For self-paced independent learners, TAP can be downloaded on any Android device with low internet bandwidth as EDGE and user interaction and progress are updated periodically. For our school partnerships, the TAP offline Application is installed in a local central server and accessed via our partner schools intra-net, while student progress and update are synchronized to the TAP cloud Server at the end of each term.

On registration of a subscriber, Our AI algorithm career engine helps learners and parents to match technology course modules relevant to their chosen career path hence creating a suitable learning path

A user subscribed to a self-paced course has access to live tutor support, access to lifelong technology mentors, and a TAP community that promotes collaboration on technology projects. TAP on-demand tutor provides an opportunity for technology educators to upskill, get certified, and get hired. Each learner type and subscribed user test their new knowledge through quizzes, assessments, hands-on projects, and is issued a certificate of prowess if successful.

To amplify the TAP hands-on project-based Learning approach, Integrated Development Environments (Eclipse) for learning different programming languages is integrated via APIs to enable each learner to implement live projects while a live support button for on-demand educators can be tapped when a learner is stuck. We have integrated Simulation environments to make hardware technology courses (Robotics, Fun-electronics) affordable for our target user segment compared to the high cost of purchasing physical hardware. More-so, TAP uses gamification and leadership scoreboards to motivate learners and participate in termly/quarterly and yearly Hackathons

TAP learning is created to be interactive, self-paced, and personalized, using a lot of learning analytics to identify knowledge gaps, learning pace, and preferences per technology module per learner using Microsoft Azure Cloud and Analytics, more so, to enable a stable platform to contain scalability to accommodate 967 528 active subscribers by 2025

B2B Users (Private and Public Schools/Administrators): They are low and Middle-Income Schools located in Urban and Semi-Urban areas in Nigeria and charge well below 100 US Dollars as termly school fees, characterized by low or no internet access, have owned or donated computer infrastructure. They implement conventional and outdated curricula taught by instructors with inadequate skillsets that do not match todays’ evolving employment demands. These schools, however, seek to add value, justify termly school fees charged, and be given the same opportunity and access to in-demand technology education as other advantaged schools in other parts of the world, while their students can compete globally. TAP uses the B2B partnership and yearly subscription model where our primary users are concentrated and while it is studied as a subject term in, term out all through a learner’s study cycle in grade school. The renewable yearly subscription provides each partner school affordable access to the updated and evolving curriculum and content for all enrolled students. Each termly subscription gives partner schools with low or no internet affordable access via the offline web application, installed on the local server. Each term learning and assessment data is synchronized at the end of every term with the TAP Azure cloud server. All enrolled students at the end of each term take an assessment and present their termly hands-on projects during open days.

 2. B2C Parents (Paying Customers): They are middle and high-income earners and Parents of Independent learners in-school or out-of-school but have limited knowledge or no access to continuous in-demand technology or employable skills set while they look forward to making their kids be able to compete globally and have a good return on investment in their child's 12-year study in Grade School. They more-so have access to learning devices with adequate internet speed, they sometimes access erratic technology courses through clubs or one-off learning platforms but with no consistent and sustainable learning plan all through their child’s early years (Grades 4 to 12). The TAP web and mobile interactive application provide access to project-based curricula and content. Parents can independently subscribe their child and engage the TAP AI course recommendation feature that matches a child’s chosen career path to the course module(s) giving them the curriculum to learn. Hence, this creates a suitable learning plan and path which is a sustainable approach term in, term out. The TAP interactive and project-based learning and assessment promotes personalized and independent learning, and at the end of each course and level, a child uploads assessments to earn a digital certificate of performance. The parents also have access to other TAP features like the on-demand Technology Educator Hire, Participation in Hackathons, and Gamified Learning

 3. B2C: (Primary Users) They are Students from (Grades 4 to 12) enrolled in low and middle-income private and public schools as well as Independent Out of School learners in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa who have little, late, or no access to in-demand technology education, up-skilled ICT Teachers, employable skillset, and internet. There are 27 564 906 Total Available Market (TAM), presently enrolled in Primary and Junior secondary school and are seemingly excluded in having early access. With a forecast of internet penetration to be 54 percent in 2022 and 57 percent by 2024 (Details: Nigeria; Statista; 2010-2019; All values are estimates), there will be an estimated 14 885 049 Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) with access to the internet. Steamledge is obtaining 3.4 percent of this estimate to impact over the next three years. TAP gives them access through its online web interactive platform anywhere with any device while offline access can be gotten if enrolled in a TAP partner school, at any nearby TAP Learning Center or off-line mobile app.

 4. B2C (ICT Teachers as Enablers): They are ICT Teachers and Independent Technology Educators or Teachers in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa seeking to up-skill and earn. They are the first point of contact with the primary users we impact but most times left out of the learning value chain which negatively impacts the primary users (students).  They are employed in low, medium, and high-income primary and Junior secondary schools. TAP provides free access to its on-demand hiring feature that in turn provides support to learners that get stuck in the learning process on its web/mobile interactive application or onsite. They provide on-site support in partner schools that adopts the offline mode. TAP certified teachers are exposed to consistent hands-on learning, mentorship, as technology evolves, while they earn extra income as a technology mentor on its platform. 

Steamledge Limited was born out of similar and personal experiences and that of my co-founder as we both studied in middle-income primary and secondary schools. I studied so hard to get good grades in Primary and Secondary Education, scoring good grades and proceeding to study abroad in the United Kingdom. I struggled so hard in project-based courses as I realized my theoretical knowledge couldn't match the technical skillset I needed, as my contemporaries had early exposure and access. 

This was the plight and reality of more than 90 percent of my 33 team members and 7 Ad-hoc personnel who mostly had their first computing exposure after grade 12, mostly at the later part of their undergraduate studies. Unfortunately, this will be the story for more than 27 million students that are enrolled in primary and junior secondary schools in Nigeria today, if a suiting solution is not put in place to address this.

In the end, our similar experiences attracted me, and my co-founder and we decided to resign from our well-paid jobs to provide the technology acceleration program formerly known as creative computing to provide early and affordable access for low and middle-income private and public schools in Nigeria starting with Kano State, Nigeria where I grew up, did my primary and secondary school.

We have over the years past carried out our customer discovery process using interviews and focus groups with different user segments i.e., discovering our TAP customers/users by testing our assumptions, profiling them, and creating personae to understand their needs in terms of the relevance of the problem they face in having access to in-demand skills. We have also gotten feedback to see if the TAP is the solution they crave, and the price point they may be willing to pay if they have access. As we increase our market penetration in our pre-existing markets and plan to expand into more states and West Africa, we consistently validate the evolving needs of our different customers/user segments through quarterly feedback surveys, star ratings on the TAP Platform, video interviews. Our customer/user feedback has resulted in integrating Hackathons as a way to compete and foster more primary user engagements, creating different pricing models for low, middle, and high-income customers/users, and adopting our hybrid approach in implementing TAP. Our interview feedback has pointed us to valued and working partnerships with Government education policy commissions with impacting primary users high concentrated in public schools

• Mentorship and Partnerships for Market Expansion and Penetration: Steamledge TAP looks forward to executing its expansion into new markets and penetration into pre-existing markets with a growth goal of 10 000 recurrent and termly subscribers by December 2022, 100 000 in 2023, 200 000 in 2024, and 500 000 users in 2025 across Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia. To facilitate our TAP growth goal, we will need handholding, mentorship, and advisory in implementation strategy from ED-Tech consultants with hands-on experience across multiple markets.  

TAP seeks working partnerships with regional school groups, Education policy commissions, software, and hardware vendors to drive our B2C and B2B models faster with robust features. Over the past four years, TAP’s business model has thrived on the B2B partnership model, and we have cumulatively impacted 18 580 students with more than 65 000 impact hours via our Physical instructor-led classes and virtual classes. However, this has been a limiting factor to growth and expansion. Consequently, we recently launched the B2C model via our Web online and offline Interactive access platforms to access new markets and pre-existing markets we previously couldn’t reach, hence reducing the cost of learning on the part of the users and overhead TAP implementation cost.   

• Investment Readiness: In our readiness to expand into new markets, TAP looks forward to validating its readiness to pitch to potential Angel and/or Venture Capital Investors in exchange for equity. We look forward to gaining more insight and coaching on Housekeeping and Governance that puts us in a vantage position before getting in front of investors

• TAP Awareness, Branding, Marketing, and Sales:  TAP seeks mentorship in learning more effective tools and strategies in reaching our targeted customer segments with different needs in the ED-tech sector. We will look out for Marketing and Sales Partnerships to hit our ambitious goals of impacting 500 000 learners in the next three years. Learning from the sales and marketing experiences of industry experts and coaching on effective customer education and selling Ed-tech products to new customers will be invaluable to me and my team. The TAP brand is critical to our identity and product sales. 

Unlike competitors, which are mostly exam driven, and concentrated on online learning dependent, our Hybrid approach (online/offline web app and Physical engagement via school partnerships) promotes early access to in-demand skills and employability, inclusiveness of user segments with low or no internet penetration in low- and middle-income communities, hence it can scale to impact a larger user segment mostly found in public schools and in millions of enrolled students as they are being deprived early access to technology education.

TAP more-so possesses a 4-year Traction with deep market Insight (user needs, pain-points) of different user segments; Schools that want to add value but don’t have access, Parents that seeks a return on 12 years of education investment in a child, teachers that are willing to upskill but do not have the access and means and young learners that craves for their dream jobs but do not have the employable technology skillset. This has been gathered over the years to validate the misalignment between school learning and in-demand employability in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Thirdly, unlike other competitors and solutions, which deploys technology education as optional, a club, or as independent online learning, TAP is integrated as a subject in schools, just like Mathematics, taken term in, term out all through a learner’s study cycle from grades 4 through 12, hence provides a sustainable and long-term learning approach using pre-existing school structure. The TAP implementation approach captures the highest concentration and clusters of where learners can be found, Schools.

TAP implements both video-based and interactive project-based approaches to learning to foster critical thinking and collaboration through its project challenge and TAP community unlike competitors focused on video and multiple-choice assessment

TAP presently focuses on the Sub-Saharan African market for the next 5 years while Indian Ed-tech leaders BYJU and LEAD are direct competitors running the same B2B models as TAP, however with different market segments concentrated in Asia. Cypher coders the UK based Ed-tech and valued at 6.8 million Euros implements the same approach as TAP but concentrated on the UK market

Implementing the TAP model gives us the platform, access, and potential to impact a total available user segment of 27 564 906 young minds enrolled in primary and junior secondary schools in Nigeria. However, we are committed to impacting an estimated 500 000 students in the next three years. Just like Codecademy for teams that launched in 2020 and partners with organizations and universities, consequently recorded 350 percent year over year increase, The TAP B2B school and organizational partnership model will also give us the speed to scale faster and larger for younger learners, while our B2C widens our reach for more inclusiveness. 

TAP is engaged with first phase of our market penetration and expansion drive to onboard 10,000 active users this year, by December 13th, 2022. As we accelerate on new partnerships, TAP projects to onboard 100 000 active users by December 2023, 200 000 and 500 000 in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

We look forward to the following impact goals in 5 Years:

• Increased Accessibility: TAP will be more accessible to more than 500 000 learners who normally wouldn’t have access. Through number of school and organizational partnerships, Education Policy commission partnerships, TAP scholarship programs and discounted rates for low-income learners. Each TAP (online or offline) user is enrolled on our cloud server to track learner engagement and learning analytics per child
• Employability: TAP’s project based, hands-on learning and evolving curriculum will have given 500 000 learners and Educators the knowledge and technology skillset relevant in todays and future workplace giving them opportunity and options to choose a more informed career path. They would have the in-demand skills to participate in global hackathons and job opportunities. Our Alumni feature and module will track a subscriber’s status to measure employment status as outcomes
• Better Quality of University Graduates: As companies invest heavily on Digital Transformation Programs, TAP cuts down significant percentage in employee re-training cost for companies thereby saving them millions of Dollars. TAP as a subject like mathematics inculcates a more sustainable to learning term in, term out throughout a learner’s study cycle in Grade school
• Improved Teaching Skills for Educators: Through TAP’s freemium approach and access to up-to-date technology curriculum for teachers to upskill, an estimated 10,000 teachers will be able to use technology to deliver knowledge creatively and effectively in classrooms. This influences the learning outcome of a child in other school subjects. TAP’s curriculum webbing, that is using technology modules learnt to teach creatively in other subjects, e.g., teachers using simple 2D animation to illustrate difficult subject topics like in Mathematics
• Return on Investment: TAP looks forward to Parents (paying customers) having a good return on investment on their child’s education. TAP reduces the time a graduate spends looking for employment after estimated 16 years of a parent’s investment in education
• Alternative Income for Technology Educators: TAP’s on-demand technology Educator hire feature will have given thousands of technology educator an alternative to earn extra income  

We look forward to achieving our set objectives through the following on-boarding activities:

• TAP Awareness Stage: After 4 years of traction and partnership, TAP leverages on existing school partnership for B2B referrals through testimonials from school administrators, subscribed students and Parents. School Administrators use word of mouth based on positive feedbacks to reach out to this user segment. Prospective School partners and individual subscribers also get introduced to TAP yearly participation in global and local education and technology exhibitions like ASNE (Annual School Needs Exhibition) 2019, 2020 and 2021, Abuja Nigeria as well as Bett Global Education Exhibition in 2019. User segments such as independent students, ICT Teachers and Parents learn and get educated on TAP via our Customer Education Videos via Instagram and Facebook, Web SEO, Blogs and Direct E-mails. Physical Presentations at open days and Parents, Teachers, Association meetings will also be leveraged.
• TAP Consideration Stage: A prospective individual subscriber is given access to take free courses on TAP online or offline Web APP to have a first-hand experience that galvanizes his/her interest. TAP carries out free on-line and on-site digital skills training for teachers in partner and non-partner schools, Free tech career webinars for prospective students where answers and clarifications are made to convert prospective customers to paying customers
• TAP Engagement: As different customer segments participate in webinars, take free courses on TAP interactive web app, free digital skills teacher trainings and career webinars, onsite and online presentations and proposals are sent out to B2B customers. However, TAP web chat messengers, follow up calls and e-mails are activated to onboard paying customers and guide them through activating offers that match their learning needs and payment subscription
• Tap Handholding and Retainerships: Paying B2B customers are allocated one technical trainer and technical support personnel to provide online and onsite trainings on TAP platform usage, termly train the trainers program, weekly and termly TAP activity and feedback report from end users and school administrators. Quarterly surveys are carried out to identify learners’ pain-points and provide immediate solution. For B2B customers, TAP curriculum is designed as a subject just like Mathematics to be taken term in, term out throughout the study cycle of a student from Grade 4 all through to Grade 12, hence providing retention of end users. TAP web app provides a feedback star rating after each course assessment, as B2C customers can request for support from our customer care personnel. For B2C customers to keep coming back as a paying customer, TAP Community (where paying customers can share ideas and collaborate on projects), TAP monthly Hackathons and competitions are made available to provide value and reason to keep coming back to TAP. Quarterly surveys are carried out to identify learners’ pain-points and provide immediate solution.

TAP uses its Objective and Key Results (OKR) to set weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals to measure our short term, midterm, and long-term goals.

TAP will continue to leverage its B2B Partnerships with Edu-centric organizations and policy makers for faster access to our primary user segment concentration in public schools. We will leverage Microsoft Learning Partnerships and Microsoft Innovative Educator Programs to drive use of technology in (physical/virtual) classrooms and enhanced technology training content and certification opportunities.

Over four years, we have cumulatively impacted 18 580 learners, 500 teachers, and 85 technology educators with over 65 000 teaching hours across (Coding, Robotics, Fun Electronics, Digital Arts, and Digital skills (use of technology in classrooms for teachers). TAP is engaged with the first phase of our market expansion drive to onboard 10,000 active users this year, by December 13th, 2022. TAP online and offline Web Application is fully functional while more interactive content is being designed and developed continuously. Active learners make use of the Integrated Development Environment platform to execute coding projects. We successfully on-boarded 1200 termly recurrent active users on our online/offline web platform in 5 partner schools across three states (Abuja, Niger, Kano state).

TAP looks forward to a yearly growth milestone of 10 000 recurrent and termly subscribers by December 2022, 100 000 in 2023, 200 000 in 2024, and 500 000 users in 2025 across Nigeria and Ghana

TAP uses its Objective and Key Results (OKR) to set weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals to measure our short-term, midterm, and long-term goals. The TAP Key Objectives are as follows:

• Accessibility of Primary Users: Provide access and impact for 506 091 primary users by December 13th, 2025
• Affordability: TAP will provide affordable access to low- and mid-income schools, who normally would not have had access and opportunity to learn in-demand, employable technology skills to compete, before now. TAP pricing model offers less than $10 US Dollars discounted access fees to TAP per term per year over the next 3 years.
• Inclusiveness of Educators: Impact and on-board 1000 Technology Educators for every 100 000 primary users enrolled and onboarded on the TAP platform by December 13th, 2025
• Collaboration and Partnerships: Fostered an estimated 2500 school and organizational partnerships across Nigeria and Ghana within the same period. These partnerships will drive inclusiveness by estimated
• Impact Assessment: We target to have nothing less than 100 percent of primary and secondary users giving TAP a 5-star rating per course module. This includes every School Partner and Independent learner within the next three years. TAP measures Learner’s proficiency, as subscribers take TAP assessments via quizzes and end-of-module project-based assessment. Successful TAP learners receive an instant certificate and participation in the TAP community Hackathon. Learner feedback and ratings are captured at the end of every module

Our integrated TAP Administrative and User Dashboard highlights each individual learner’s KPIs as Module Completion rates, time spent to complete a course module. Retention and application rates measure how much a learner remembers what is learned and knows what will be likely applied in real-life scenarios. This is measured while taking quizzes and implementing hands-on project challenges.

TAP recorded highly positive learning outcomes over 4 years as an estimated 95 percent success rate has been recorded as past learners have picked up great technology-based careers. 60 percent of our team are direct beneficiaries of TAP. While 75 percent of our school partnership enrolment has been through referrals. 

TAP, through its online, offline Web App and Physical Learning Centers provides early and affordable access to In-demand Tech Skills and as a subject just like “Mathematics” set in (Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Game Design, Coding, Fun Electronics, and Creative Digital Arts) for Grades (4 -12) for low and middle-income communities characterized by low or no internet penetration all through their study cycle in grade school.

Consequently, TAP learners complete Grade school with multiple in-demand technology skills as needed and relevant to any course of study or career field they choose. Our immediate goal is to improve inclusiveness by increasing early and affordable access to updated technology content and in-demand employable skills sets for these young learners from disadvantaged communities

600 000 yearly graduates in Nigeria remain unemployed for 5 years after graduation, as the unemployment rate increased to 33 percent by the end of 2020 (2020 National Bureau of Statistics Report (NBS)), resulting in an unproductive workforce. According to the “Future of Jobs” Survey (World Economic Forum Report 2020), 55.4 percent of companies surveyed say, The Skills gaps in the local labor market are seen as a perceived barrier to the adoption of new technologies.

However, in the long term, TAP will have reduced unemployment rates and created an early career and employment opportunities for more than 500 000 out of 27 564 906 pupils presently enrolled in primary and junior secondary schools in Nigeria.

Over the past 4-years, TAP has impacted 18 580 learners with over 65 000 teaching hours across three states: Abuja, Niger, and the Kano States in Nigeria. Our video feedbacks from subscribed learners and partner schools suggest young learners can now compete healthily with their contemporaries in other parts of the world. More than 90 percent of our School Partners have become repeated subscribers while they recommend TAP to prospective partners. Our partner schools have added more value to their graduating students while parents reap a positive Return on their Educational Investment.  

To promote inclusiveness and accessibility, TAP uses its online and offline Web and Mobile application (Progressive Web App) to provide easy and affordable access to learning modules for different learner types from middle- and low-income communities characterized by low internet bandwidth. TAP users can be enrolled via school or organization, and independent self-paced learners anywhere, anytime. For self-paced independent learners, TAP can be used on any device (Laptop, Mobile Phone, Tablet) with low or no internet bandwidth, and learners’ progress is updated periodically using as low as EDGE data rates to synchronize learning updates. For our school partnerships, TAP is installed in a local central server and accessed offline via our partner schools intra-net, while student progress and update are synchronized to the TAP cloud Server at the end of each term. The TAP learning guide AI engine guides learners or parents to decide course modules relevant to their chosen career path hence creating a suitable learning path.

To amplify our hands-on project-based Learning approach, Integrated Development Environments (Eclipse) for learning different programming languages is integrated via Application Programming Interface (APIs) to enable each learner to implement live projects while a live support button for on-demand technology educator hire can be tapped when stuck. We are integrating Simulation environments to make hardware technology courses (Robotics, Fun-electronics) affordable compared to the high cost of purchasing physical hardware kits. More-so, TAP uses gamification and leadership scoreboards to motivate learners to participate in quarterly and yearly Hackathons

TAP learning is created to be interactive, self-paced, and personalized, using a lot of learning analytics to identify knowledge gaps, learning pace, and preferences per technology module per learner. We use Microsoft Azure Cloud and Analytics to enable a stable platform to contain scalability to accommodate more than 500 000 active subscribers beyond 2025

Diversity: The story of Steamledge will not be fair to complete without mentioning how it started. Steamledge TAP was created as a common vision of two co-founders from different and distant cultural backgrounds and religious beliefs in Nigeria’s consistently polarized society.  Our experiences studying similar courses in different cities and countries but with the same challenge of having late access to hands-on technology skills compared to our contemporaries in other parts of the world.  Realizing a common goal to reverse the impact on millions of learners in primary and junior secondary school birthed Steamledge TAP.

We have created a culture that embraces being human over culture and religion, age, and Gender. This reflects in the composition of our 33 personnel strong team and 7 Ad-hoc recruited based on the tenets of the founders.

 Equity: TAP was created out of the need for every student in primary and secondary schools in Nigeria and beyond to have early and the same access and opportunity to relevant technology curriculum and in-demand Skillset needed to access global employment opportunities. Our target users are found to study across private and public schools with differing infrastructure however provided with our Hybrid implementation approach; access via online web application for user segment with adequate bandwidth, an off-line web application for user segment with little or no internet bandwidth, and access to Physical Technology Classes via TAP learning centers in three states in Nigeria

 Inclusion: As we have always regarded teachers as a pivotal point of our primary learners, TAP has been designed and implemented to be inclusive of all teachers regardless of the subject they teach. In the last 4 years, TAP has trained more than 500 partner schoolteachers in the use of digital technology in classrooms, more so implementing curriculum webbing where technology skills learned in TAP per term are used to simplify seemingly tough topics and subjects like Mathematics. For example, using coding to teach conditional statements.

The TAP on-demand Feature provides opportunities for ICT teachers anywhere that wouldn’t normally have had the opportunity to learn new technology skills, to get certified, and to get hired while they earn.

We have also considered partner schools and primary learners from low- and middle-income communities characterized by low income and with low, or no internet access typically located in Semi-urban areas to access the TAP offline web application installed on a local computer server resident within the school and at a discounted price. Hence students access it locally without the need for internet bandwidth. Independent learners also access TAP via the offline mobile app 

B2B Users (Private and Public Schools/Administrators): They are low and Middle-Income public and private Schools located in Urban and Semi-Urban areas in Nigeria and charge well below $100 US Dollars as termly school fees, characterized by low or no internet access, have owned or donated computer infrastructure. They implement conventional and outdated curricula taught by instructors with inadequate skillsets that do not match todays’ evolving employment demands. These schools, however, seek to add value, justify termly school fees charged, and be given the same opportunity and access to in-demand technology education as other advantaged schools in other parts of the world, while their students can compete globally. Through participation in local Education Fairs, Exhibitions, TAP creates awareness and further engages this customer segment through a 3-day Demo Bootcamp with subsequent handholding all through the onboarding process. A TAP technical trainer provides online and on-site support depending on each customer needs. TAP is studied as a subject term in, term out all through a learner’s study cycle in grade school while each partner school signs up for a renewable yearly TAP contract agreement. This provides each partner school affordable access to the updated and evolving curriculum and content for all enrolled students. Each Learner enrolled in TAP partner schools pays a $10USD termly subscription which amounts to $30USD a year. This gives partner schools with low or no internet affordable access via the offline web application, installed on the local server. Each term learning and assessment data is synchronized at the end of every term with the TAP Azure cloud server. All enrolled students at the end of each term take an assessment, upload their termly hands-on projects, more so present their projects during open days.  To retain school partnerships, TAP harvests customer feedback from School Principals, Parents, Teachers, and Learners through video interviews and feedback forms capturing ways to improve Tap and discovering evolving needs. TAP provides other Ad-hoc services like free yearly teacher training on basic use of technology in classrooms through the (Microsoft Innovative Educator). For market expansion, TAP is engaging the Education Policy commission (UBEC) for partnerships to onboard more public schools which have the highest number of learners

 2. B2C Parents (Paying Customers): They are middle and high-income earners and Parents of Independent learners in-school or out-of-school but have limited knowledge or no access to continuous in-demand technology or employable skills set while they look forward to making their kids be able to compete globally and have a good return on investment in their child's 12-year study in Grade School. They more so have access to learning devices with adequate internet speed, they sometimes access erratic technology courses through clubs or one-off learning platforms and boot camps but with no consistent and sustainable learning plan all through their child’s early years (Grades 4 to 12). TAP creates awareness to reach this segment via testimonials and customer Education videos on social media handles (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). For customer consideration and engagement, TAP holds webinars and career fairs and 7-day free access to limited course modules on the TAP web app. The TAP web and mobile interactive application provide access to project-based curricula and content. Parents can independently subscribe their child with a quarterly access fee of $15USD while they engage the TAP AI course recommendation feature that matches a child’s chosen career path to the course module(s) giving them the curriculum to learn. Hence, this creates a suitable learning plan and path which is a sustainable approach term in, term out. The TAP interactive and project-based learning and assessment promotes personalized and independent learning, and at the end of each course and level, a child uploads assessments to earn a digital certificate of performance. To keep re-engaging this segment on subsequent subscriptions, TAP provides access to other TAP features like the on-demand Technology Educator support, Participation in Hackathons, and Gamified Learning.

 3. B2C: (Primary Users) They are Students from (Grades 4 to 12) enrolled in low and middle-income private and public schools as well as Independent Out of School learners in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa who have little, late, or no access to in-demand technology education, up-skilled ICT Teachers, employable skillset, and internet. There are 27 564 906 Total Available Market (TAM), presently enrolled in Primary and Junior secondary school and are seemingly excluded in having early access. With a forecast of internet penetration to be 54 percent in 2022 and 57 percent by 2024 (Details: Nigeria; Statista; 2010-2019; All values are estimates), there will be an estimated 14 885 049 Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) with access to the internet. Steamledge is obtaining 3.4 percent of this estimate to impact over the next three years. TAP gives them access through its online web interactive platform anywhere with any device while offline access can be gotten if enrolled in a TAP partner school, at any nearby TAP Learning Center or off-line mobile app.

 4. B2C (ICT Teachers as Enablers): They are ICT Teachers and Independent Technology Educators or Teachers in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa seeking to up-skill and earn. They are the first point of contact with the primary users we impact but most times left out of the learning value chain which negatively impacts the primary users (students).  They are employed in low, medium, and high-income primary and Junior secondary schools. TAP provides free access to its on-demand hiring feature that in turn provides support to learners that get stuck in the learning process on its web/mobile interactive application or onsite. They provide on-site support in partner schools that adopts the offline mode. TAP certified teachers are exposed to consistent hands-on learning, mentorship, as technology evolves, while they earn extra income as a technology mentor on its platform. 

After consistent iterations and user feedback over the past 4 years, TAP has consistently designed, created, implemented, and updated its proprietary technology curriculum and modules (AI, Creative Digital Arts, Coding, Robotics, Fun Electronics, Game Design, Data Analytics) based on our primary customer segment needs which are learners between grades 4 to 12 or of equivalent age bracket. The TAP problem-solution fit focuses on providing early, affordable access even to middle and low-income schools and individuals living in Semi-urban areas characterized by low or no internet bandwidth. Before now, TAP delivered value through physical classes in partner schools. TAP has recruited, trained, and re-trained more than 85 full-time technology educators to facilitate physical learning in different partner schools. However, as the numbers, engagements, and school partnership requests grew, and Covid happened, TAP scaled its delivery and implementation to a Hybrid approach, through our Online and offline Web Application, Virtual live classes, and Physical classes. Consequently, TAP has adopted the B2C model and is presently engaging in market penetration and expansion to more states (Lagos, Abuja, Oyo) and to west African countries (Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia) beyond 2025.

Consequently, to be able to facilitate and fund our B2B and B2C engagements, market penetration, expansion, and product delivery to 500 000 learners from now to 2025, TAP will use its Fee-for-Service Model. Our termly recurrent revenue model requires each learner studying in any of our partner schools to pay $10USD per term subscription fee which amounts to a total of $30USD per year while our B2C customer subscribers pay $15USD for 3-month access to the TAP platform. TAP more-so provides freemium but limited access to basic technology modules for a 7-day trial period

TAP looks forward to raising $1.5 million USD in venture capital funds in return for 12.5 percent equity in Steamledge TAP to be able to accelerate our growth and impact. We plan to spend 25 percent of this on growth and expansion,50 percent on Product Development, IT infrastructure, and Human Resources, 20 percent on Marketing and Sales, and the remaining 5 percent on Network and expertise: This is broken into details as below:

• Product Development: Activation of more Web APP features, (AI and Machine Learning Models, Simulation Canvas, TAP mobile APP version, and Gamified Content)
• Increase marketing and sales promotion activities for Market Penetration and Expansion
• Hire sales and marketing team, software and content development team for product expansion and user retention, and onboard key account managers, Legal and HR for Hiring and partnerships
• Hire of a Chief Financial Officer/Consultant, Chief Marketing Officer

In the next 3 years, we would have generated an estimated revenue of $6 000 000 USD over 200 000 On-boarded Subscribers at $30USD per Subscriber over 3 years

Technology Acceleration Program (TAP) was bootstrapped by estimated debt financing of 11,111 US Dollars from family and friends while TAP started in October 2017 as market demand and need from our first client (Sweet-Haven Schools, Kano-Nigeria) which rolled in our first revenue on termly subscription.

Technology Acceleration Program has generated a total of $288,254 USD revenue in the last 4 years via a termly/quarterly subscription model, through school partnership enrolment and individual learner enrolment. Breakdown of Revenue generated is as follows:

Total Revenue Generated 2018: $41,934 US Dollars

Total Revenue Generated 2019: $83 960 US Dollars

Total Revenue Generated 2020: $74 360 US Dollars

Total Revenue Generated 2020: $88 000 US Dollars