Covid-19 Sees Growth of e-learning in Africa

A free-to-use e-learning platform, is now available in 54 countries across the continent.

Africa’s e-learning market has seen substantial growth due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, with the use of e-learning applications and platforms surging as schools and universities are forced to deliver lessons virtually, and people use eLearning platforms to improve their skills profiles during national lockdowns.

The atingi platform joins this market with a particular focus on reaching marginalised populations that previously have not had access to high-quality education. The platform delivers access to best-in-class learning content for Africa’s citizens, transforming lives with training that improves their job prospects and supports entrepreneurial activities. Through connecting people with free, premium educational resources, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH seeks to support African economic growth by closing the skills gaps at home. Moreover, atingi aims to ensure that all members of society can gain the skills necessary to unleash the power of digital transformation – and it has partnered with leading international organisations like the World Bank and Smart Africa, with its 30 member countries to do this.

Commenting on the atingi platform, German Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Gerd Müller said “Digitalisation can help Africa make enormous strides in its development. This new platform offers eLearning opportunities to young people in remote and rural areas. We must harness the full potential of modern technology to create new opportunities for young Africans to enter training, the agricultural sector, medicine or the tech business.”

One of the many changes that have been brought about by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has been the strong growth of eLearning, particularly in Africa. In fact, according to a report by Global Market Insights, the African e-learning sector is expected to reach a market value of US$1.8bn by 2024. Unlike other eLearning platforms, the atingi learning content is developed in cooperation with specialised local African partners, and carefully considers local needs and market, making it unrivalled in contextual relevance. Furthermore, learners that have successfully completed courses are awarded certificates as proof of their learning achievements.

“One of the focus areas of atingi is vocational education, as we know that this will help Africans create and optimise employment opportunities at home (...). We decided to put our learnings to work through contextually relevant content, via state-of-the-art digital learning methods, that anyone with an internet connection can easily access at no cost to them,” explained Michael Krake, the Deputy Director

General for the Private sector, Trade, Employment and Digital Technologies at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The platform is available for use by people throughout Africa and the content on the platform, available in both English and French, is optimised for use on any internet-enabled device, providing learners with flexible learning options to suit their learning styles. In addition to the current self-study learning programmes, in the future, aims to add courses that will be supported by tutors, and even hybrid courses that will combine real-life elements with online sessions.

“In many African countries, access to education - especially for girls and rural populations - is a significant inhibitor to economic and social development. We hope that our atingi.org platform can, in some small way, contribute to breaking this cycle of educational exclusion and promote access to job opportunities for all. We strongly encourage all Africans to visit the platform, register and take the courses most relevant for their aspirations. It is our mission to help Africa unlock her potential by ensuring her people achieve their employment ambitions, whatever they may be,” concludes Deputy Director General, Michael Krake.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GIZ.

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