We want to start off by saying Happy New Year and a million thanks to each and every one of you for your support throughout our journey! We’re going to kick off this year with a recap of our 2018 highlights.

Business Lead, a “Micro MBA” program that Funzi created with Hanken & SSE Executive Education has won Gold in the Talent Development category at EFMD Excellence-in practice Awards. The program upskilled migrants arriving to Finland, mainly from Syria and Iraq, and prepared them for the Finnish business environment. The program included mobile learning on Funzi, classroom teaching and mentoring with Hanken & SSE Executive Education, and internships in leading companies in Finland.

In late 2017, we partnered with UNDP Syria to help strengthen the resilience of individuals and communities affected in the Syrian crisis. As of August 2018, more than 400 users have started the courses, and the completion rates of the course topics range from 80 - 100 %. We have also received great feedback from the participants: “The courses were very rich and useful and were designed specifically for UNDP interventions and projects, making them closer to reality than theoretical generalities and theoretical approaches. Thank you very much for your efforts.” 

Spring has sprung here in the Arctic Finnish land. And similar to the Finnish weather, we’ve also sprung out a new course! In partnership with the UNESCO Chair in Learning Society and Futures of Education at Finland Futures Research Centre, at the University of Turku, we’re bringing out a mobile course on Futures skills to prepare and equip our youth with the tools they need to build their future!

It’s been a busy month of travels, gaining a better understanding of our role in providing solutions to help the refugee crisis, and moving our current projects forward. Funzi CEO and founder Tero Salonen recently had the honor to attend and speak at the Jobs Make The Difference stakeholder consultation event in Turkey to help expand economic opportunities for refugees and host communities in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey.

At the end of 2017, our Founder Aape Pohjavirta had the amazing opportunity to be a keynote speaker at the 7th International ADB Skills Forum. We were invited to participate in three presentations including a product showcase, a panel discussion about the future of work and skills, and a keynote speech on how jobs and employment will change in the future.