Scephtech - Teach-A-Peer (S-TAP)

Giving kids/teens the opportunity to learn tech skills and also teach these skills to their peers using our e-learning platform for sustainable learning, bridging the digital divide/gap plaguing Calabar community.

The problem of lack of continuity in learning coupled with the huge digital divide and inequalities plaguing suburban and rural kids and teens in Calabar community.

Children and teens between the ages of 6 to 18 years in my sub-urban and rural community face a huge digital divide and digital illiteracy. This is predicated on the quality and lack of infrastructure, poor speed of connectivity, lack of training and necessary skills required to navigate relevant technologies in these areas, unsustainable training programs/ haphazard boot camps that leave trainees half-baked and unable to practicalize and fully develop the skill learned.

We live in a world where we are just a click away from almost everything. From surfing the internet to gain knowledge or access information, connecting with family and friends and collaborating with people to build profitable partnerships.

These premises make digital skills topical and more relevant today than ever.

A lot of children and teens in my local community do not have the relevant skills that can enable them operate and take advantage of basic digital tools, like how to operate a laptop or desktop computer, carry out simple tasks like booting and shutting down, make use of Microsoft applications, among other digital devices like smart phones. A survey was carried out by a local organization in my community(MakeWeWaka4Change), for which I volunteered and discovered first hand the huge number of teenagers (about 300 out of 402 that participated) that did not posses basic digital skills. According to a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA) survey, approximately 61% of Nigerians as a whole in rural areas are unconnected, compared to 40% in urban areas. Unfortunately, this has led to a great digital divide and inequality among peers in the communities of the same Region/State.

Our solution is a system where kids and teens learn a digital skill with our organization's e-learning platform and commit to teaching their peers the skill they have learned after successful completion of their course. This will ensure they have better mastery of the skills learned while seizing the opportunity to give back to their community by teaching a peer at the end of their course. After successfully undergoing a course on our platform, our new alumni then get notified to register as a "Peer Teacher" where they are afterwards paired with a "Peer Learner"(one who has registered to learn from a peer), provided with the necessary course materials and further incentives, e.g. the opportunity to win a laptop at the end of the Teach-A-Peer program. Peer learners register to the program with a little fee to help them commit to the program. They sign a pledge form during their registration process to teach a peer upon successful completion of their training. Peer learners are also incentivized to stay on course with support from our partners and sponsors.

We provide our solution;

- Through our digital e-learning platform (still in its prototype phase)

- By creating a chain/network of learners committed to giving back to their community and making a change by teaching their peers the digital skills they have acquired.

- By helping to bridge the digital divide/inequality amongst peers in my community and ensuring learning continuity and sustainability.

Our solution serves kids and teens in mainly suburban and rural areas. A lot of children and teens in my local community do not have the relevant skills that can enable them operate and take advantage of basic digital tools, like how to operate a laptop or desktop computer, carry out simple tasks like booting and shutting down, make use of Microsoft applications, among other digital devices like smart phones.

Our solution will impact their lives in the following ways;

  - equip them with relevant digital skills that will prepare them for the future of work.

  - reduce the inequality they face everyday with their more privileged peers in urban areas.

  - give them a sense of fulfillment when they can confidently teach and share their knowledge/skill with their peers.

  - greatly increase their competitive ability in this digital age because of the opportunity to gain mastery of whatever skill they learn through the Teach-A-Peer Project with ScephTech.

The team is well positioned to deliver this for the following reasons;

- We are a team of four(4) with entrepreneurial skills, programming skills, business development skills, marketing skills, event planning/organizing skills, educating/training skills, etc.

- We have a highly motivated and passionate team lead, who is from a diverse background and has surmounted several obstacles in her learning journey within the digital space. An education/programs director, well experienced in event/programs planning/organizing, marketing, tech and research. The lead marketer experienced in all things marketing both on social media and offline. And finally, a business/project manager, trained and experienced in business management at the University of Calabar and a well seasoned software engineer.

  - Our closeness to the problem; we all had an opportunity to learn a skill through a digital program and have in turn taught several kids digital skills through our program.

  - We have seen first hand the positive impact our program has had on these kids.

  - We have the experience, skills set and passion to take this project to the next level of success.

  - We have already existing structure in place and data we have gathered over the years to show the need and impact of our solution.

  - We are a young and vibrant team, always ready to learn and grow and  be actively part of the change we seek in our society. 

My team and I have taken the following steps to ensure we understand and are serving the needs of our target population;

• Journeying to at least 5 secondary and primary schools in Calabar community, Cross River State, to carry out feasibility studies on the digital divide among children and young adults.
• Volunteering with relevant organizations and conducting surveys to get figures and confirm the need and target for solution.

• Built preliminary prototypes to test with users.
• Ran several focus groups with the team.
• Volunteered with a tech-based organization to better understand the problems they faced, and how they went about solving them. E.g. a local organization in my community, MakeWeWaka4Change.
• Assessed what worked for the kids and teens that have undergone our training program in the past and tailored our solution to the information/data we gathered.

Why Our Solution is Innovative:

We designed the prototype for our e-learning platform with input from our learners/students, ensuring effective and efficient utilization by our end-users.

We began by assessing the needs of the kids and teens that have undergone our training program in the past and we confirmed our solution by ensuring its relevance to our target demographic.

The S-TAP e-learning platform is adapted to accommodate a two-way training system between the ScephTech educators and a general/regular learner alongside a supervised training between a peer teacher and a peer learner.

S-TAP is a network of peer teachers and peer learners, coming together on a single platform resulting in sustainability of learning.

The parents of our alumni kids and teens have never ceased to be amazed by the wonderful works they see their children/wards do because of their training with our organization. Their consistent impact reports has spurred us to push to reach more kids and teens in the Calabar community, extending to the Northern part of Nigeria and beyond. With our work so far, we have successfully trained over Five-Hundred and Fifty (550) kids (at the time of this application) and teens (both offline and online), with at least 40% of that number continuing in the tech path. In the coming 6 - 9 months, after successful launch of our product (e-learning platform), we plan to deploy every available resource to triple these figures and remain on a consistent path to equip more kids and teens with digital skill set that will bridge the digital divide and make them relevant to the future of work.

How technology is integral to our solution;

S-TAP will forever change the narrative when it comes to digital skill acquisitions online. Through our digital e-learning platform (still in its prototype phase, currently working to complete our mobile and web apps at the time of this application), we are creating a chain/network of learners committed to giving back to their community and making a change by teaching their peers the digital skills they have acquired.

S-TAP utilizes technology to bridge the digital divide/inequality amongst peers in our community, ensuring learning continuity and sustainability.

It tracks learning progress, number of kids/teens registered in the general training course and the Teach-A-Peer learning path (either as a peer teacher or a peer learner), unifies our entire project (both offline and online) and serves as a rich reservoir of resources for digital courses.

- Our solution has served over 500 kids and teens offline and over 50 kids online (using alternative platforms)

- After successful launch and completion of our digital e-learning platform, we plan to serve at least 2,000 kids and teens in the next one year.

Some barriers we may face in the coming year;

Insecurity - My community faces several security threats. So we are concerned with the safety of our teachers and learners for the aspects of our project that might require physical gatherings. We may have to begin works to make our project strictly online, especially for our community, upon successful launch and completion of our digital e-learning platform.

Competition - We may experience competition on the e-learning space from organizations that have since established on this space.

Partnerships; We are concerned with finding the right partners for our solution and team. we have received sponsorships and grants in the past couple of years but have not yet been able secure healthy partnerships that share our values and are not out to exploit us because we are a team of young females.

Legal services; acquiring legal services is key at this stage in our solution but might prove a bit above our budget, unless of course we get the strategic partnerships and sponsors we seek.

Currently, we do seasonal partnerships and this is due to some unpleasant experiences in the past, obviously due to inexperience on our part and some unleveled playing field. However, the organizations we partner with seasonally/have partnered with at least once are;

- Shenovate; an organization that works to ensure that every girl and woman has equal access to opportunities in STEM.

- Psifon Organization and online community; is a nonprofit organization that cultivates, shapes and grows entrepreneurial ecosystems within local communities to generate and distribute wealth.

- Ikapture Networks; is a social enterprise providing solutions to the youth and educational challenges using innovative strategies and information and communication technology (ICT) in Nigeria. The organization works with secondary and post-secondary students as well as graduates and youth between the age of 15 and 25 years who require certain relevant skills to be outstanding in an increasingly competitive environment.

- Technovation (Regional, Nigeria); Girls learn to build a mobile app to solve a community problem and bring it to market. Learn to code, build a business, and pitch products.

- Google Developer Group Calabar; Organizers of Google Developer Groups are passionate leaders in their community who are dedicated to helping others learn and connect.

Our Business Model

Key Resources:

- Well trained educators

- Legal advisor (professional personnel)

- Relevant partnerships

- Visibility in the online space

- Passionate volunteer staff/full staff

Key Activities:

- Digital skills training

- Enrolling as a peer learner or peer teacher

- Pairing and peer-to-peer training/learning

- Live classes

- Recorded classes and other resources

- Managing e-learning platform and following up on our target market offline and online

- Ensuring continuity of learning

- Offering scholarships and other incentives to encourage learning

Type of Intervention:

- Learning continuity through peer-to-peer pairing and training

- E-learning; digital skills

Segment:

- Kids and teens in suburban and rural areas of the Calabar community in Nigeria.

Customer Value Proposition:

  - Equip them with relevant digital skills.

  - Reduce the inequality they face everyday.

  - Give them a sense of fulfillment and build confidence.

  - Increase their employability.

Value Proposition:

- Creating a chain/network of learners committed to giving back to their community.

- Bridging the digital divide/inequality amongst peers.

- Providing quality resources for learning.

- Ensuring learning continuity and sustainability.

Partners or Key Stakeholders:

- Institutions of learning; Secondary and Primary schools

- Parents

- Skilled instructors/educators in the field

- Organizations that offer tech services

- Afterschool organizations

- Relevant NGOs

Channels:

- Our Website and/or mobile applications

- Our social media platforms

- Our seasonal partners

- Referrals through word of mouth

- Testimonial videos shared by our alumni.

Cost Structure:

- Salaries for full staff and educators

- Website/mobile app maintenance

- Marketing costs

- Resource developments

- Cost of running offline projects

Surplus:

- Awarding scholarships/sponsorships.

Revenue:

- 30% from grants and sponsorships.

- 50% from payments for our training programs and other projects.

- 20% from selling ads on web platform.

Our Revenue Model;

ScephTech-Teach-A-Peer Project is a social enterprise and is also a brain child of the ScephTech organization that finds tech solutions to problems.

We use a service subsidization revenue model: this means that we sell our services (digital skills trainings) or products (digital courses and resources) to a secondary target market and use the proceeds to fund our primary market which are the suburban and rural kids and teens enrolled in our Teach-A-Peer Project. We also seek out grants and sponsors for our non-profit projects.