Educational revolution must shape future of Africa
WHILE the COVID-19 crisis disrupted the development of lots of projects across the globe, it encouraged innovators to push their ideas forward and in other countries such as Cape Verde, an educational revolution is quietly taking place.
Back in January, a Brazilian businessman visited Cape Verde looking to invest in electronic recycling and training new entrepreneurs to create start-ups.
Despite the lockdown, the Cape Verde Professional School has been shaping into quite an interesting solution, bringing together education, technology and entrepreneurship in an innovative project.
The project addresses some key issues in supporting of development such as employment, entrepreneurship, education, recycling and inclusion.
Using an online educational platform and broadcasting through State television channels, prospective students will be able to “attend” a range of technical classes with a focus on teaching a set of professional skills and entrepreneurship.
For example, one of the classes will teach students to repair computers and peripherals that came at the end of their corporate life, repurposing them to be traded at affordable prices so people with no access as well as small and medium businesses can buy them.
Another class will teach students the fundamentals of entrepreneurship so that they can start repairing and selling the computers themselves.
Such initiatives must catch the attention of African governments to promote and support entrepreneurship. Such projects can be used for start-ups for the African youth.
Also, the equipment used during the classes, once fixed, will be donated to the institutions in the students’ communities.
The goal of the programme should be to initiate social and economic inclusiveness as it creates all means necessary to assist people on their way to become entrepreneurs.
As equipment is refurbished and repurposed at low cost, it will allow more people to access the digital economy while introducing recycling and a lighter reliance on electronic imports from China.