The document describes a program called the Africa Learning Ecosystem that provides online courses through Coursera and WhatsApp mentoring to learners across Africa. It began in 2015 with MBA students' idea to offer University of Virginia courses. It has now provided over 20,000 scholarships across 54 African countries. Learners report that the program has helped them improve their businesses and careers. Completion rates for the courses range from 16-72%. The author invites others to get involved in expanding the program's reach and impact.

1. The Tipping Point: Reaching Thousands of Learners in
Africa through Coursera, WhatsApp, and Regional
Partners
Dr. Kristin Palmer
September 2020
IEEE Learning with MOOCs

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My Ask
If you go through these slides and think you’d like to participate, promote or
have ideas for this program, please reach out to me! This program has added
tremendous value transforming lives across the continent of Africa. I’d love to
add more content or more partners so we can reach more people looking for
learning opportunities.
Thanks!
Kristin Palmer, kristin@virginia.edu

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Thomas Jefferson “TJ”
Public R1
Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
UNESCO World Heritage site
~25k Students
2012 Coursera Partner
Who? Where? University of Virginia

4. MBA Students
Global Experiences
Africa Learning Ecosystem
Outreach
Research
In 2015, our students had an idea…

5. DEAfrica
WhatsApp
Coursera
FAQs
Mentors
Zoom Sessions
Orientation
We designed the program based on the COI framework

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We leveraged our content on Coursera

7. Local Mentors
WhatsApp
We partnered for regional community support

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We started with 94 learners and had 29% completion rate.

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Today 20,000+ scholarships in all 54 countries

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Inside the ASC: Sophie Kanyiri from Kenya
“Having undertaken the course I have
been able to improve my marketing
strategies for the benefit of my
employer and myself. I have learned
how to analyze competition, a skill not
well taught in our Kenyan system.
This has allowed me to be more
broad-minded and creative and
improve sales at my
workplace.”

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Inside the ASC: Dominic Tembo Chanyenga from Malawi
These courses have been very instrumental in
broadening the way I think and approach problems.
The Coursera platform has been very convenient. The
schedule is flexible, and I can engage with other
people in our group. This afforded me more insight to
the course content and applying what I learned to the
real world. Thank you for this opportunity!

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Inside the ASC: Selam Kairu from Kenya
Selam Kairu lives in Nairobi, Kenya, but she credits a lot of her
business’s growth to lessons learned from the University of Virginia’s
Darden School of Business, approximately 7,600 miles away. Since
beginning online studies with Darden, Kairu and her husband Ken,
who jointly started an insurance agency, have increased sales,
automated their insurance claims process, transformed their marketing
strategy and developed a strategic plan to guide their company for
years to come.
“What I learned helped me grow my business. I am a better
businessperson and employer; I think more critically and strategically
in my business decisions. I have loved challenging not only my team
here in the office, but also other businesspeople who I have
encouraged to do the course. I enrolled in the program because I
believe in lifelong learning. Getting a high-quality education from UVA
is a dream come true.”

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Inside the ASC: Liz Wakula from Tanzania
These courses have helped me “recreate my
product and service offering and give the
company new life.” I am in the process of
developing an online life skills program aimed
at youth and finalizing a book with a similar
focus.
“Every one of the courses I have done has had
a direct impact on my business. My way of
thinking has changed after being equipped with
tools that have helped me make more informed
decisions.”

14. Thank You
Dr. Kristin Palmer
kristin@virginia.edu

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Depending on the class 16-72% completion rates