Funzi launches mobile course as part of South Africa’s national coronavirus response initiative - UN to support scale-up
Today we are proud to launch the course ‘COVID-19: Adapt and thrive’ in South Africa, as a part of the country’s official coronavirus response initiative. It was created in collaboration with our partner Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, and will be rolled out as part of the national initiative to reach 3 Million young people during the lockdown.
We have also partnered with The United Nations in South Africa who have declared their intent to scale the program to all African nations.
Since 2015, Funzi has been at the forefront of helping to deliver hope in the shape of essential information and learning opportunities, to people in crisis situations. Our years of experience, extensive research, and millions of learners, have taught us that mobile is the most effective mechanism to reach the majority of the population and disseminate information. Access to relevant and factual information has a calming effect during times of uncertainty. We continue our mission to give everyone the opportunity to improve their lives through learning with two sets of courses: the Funzi Now Pack and Funzi Future Pack.
The Funzi Now Pack provides clear information on the coronavirus, how it spreads, preventative measures, and national restrictions. Initially, it includes the course ‘COVID-19: Adapt and thrive’ which addresses the physical, mental, social, and financial impact coronavirus has on people’s lives, their families’, community, and society. The course was created with specialists in the field of medicine, digital product design, and alongside South African experts at Harambee.
After learning how to adapt to, and deal with the current situation, learners are directed to the Funzi Future Pack. Four courses equipping them with skills to meaningfully develop themselves and help others to build a better future.
“In times of crisis, mobile learning has proven to be incredibly impactful. We were able to launch the course in only 10 days, giving millions access to timely and critical information. The Funzi approach is unique because of our combination of technology and pedagogy. It is designed for mobile with users in emerging markets in mind,” states Aape Pohjavirta, Founder of Funzi.
We are extremely grateful and humbled by the support of the United Nations and the Finnish and South African Governments regarding scaling this initiative. Our next steps include deploying our approach to other countries in Africa, and globally. To be able to do this, we are looking for national partners to create localized versions of the course. If you can help us in localizing the content for your country or community, please reach out below. Together, let’s beat COVID-19.
Funzi is a mobile service that gives all mobile users access to motivating and useful learning. We empower our learners to develop skills they need to build a better tomorrow with our service’s engaging experience and effective pedagogy. Through our global partnerships with the world’s largest education publisher Pearson and social network Facebook, among others, we aim to solve the greatest challenges in education.
Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator is a not-for-profit social enterprise with extensive experience of building solutions and innovations aimed at solving the youth unemployment challenge in South Africa. We partner with business, government, young people and many other partners who are committed to results that can work at scale. Visit Harambee.co.za to find out more.