AltSchool Africa, a Nigerian digital tech training institution, has recently partnered with OpenLabs, a higher education institution leading the tech upskilling of students to meet these growing needs, to provide access to its cutting-edge Learning Management System (LMS) and content infrastructure. This partnership aims to bring together the best of both worlds–the vast experience and expertise of OpenLabs in face-to-face learning and the innovative online approach of AltSchool Africa that will improve the quality of digital education in Ghana and beyond, according to an official statement.
As a part of the collaboration, OpenLabs (previously NIIT Ghana), will be able to offer world-class education to its students, regardless of their location or economic background in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, by leveraging AltSchool’s online programs and learning management system.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Chief Executive Officer of AltSchool Africa, Adewale Yusuf, said:
AltSchool Africa “is thrilled to partner with Open Labs to provide access to our cutting-edge learning programs and learning management system”. The platform is also “committed to ensuring that every African has access to quality learning and programs in line with in-demand skills, and this partnership is a significant step towards achieving that goal.”
Adewale added:
Africa missed out on the industrial revolution and slowly asserted itself within the knowledge economy,” as the world now transitions into the skills economy, Africa needs to be “part of—or even leading—the conversation”. Africa is committed to ensuring that every African can access its updated curriculums and programs, with the OpenLabs partnership being a great start. We believe that by providing our curriculum in all areas and a learning management system, we can support OpenLabs’ curriculum in other fields besides technology.
Launched in October 2021 by Adewale Yusuf, who is also the Co-founder and CEO of Nigerian tech talent developing and outsourcing company, TalentQL, Akintunde Sultan and Opeyemi Awoyemi, AltSchool provides a solution as an online school with a curriculum to improve/upskill non-technical people with technical and soft skills while partnering with higher institutions to provide diploma certificates. The company aims to help individuals get started on their desired careers. Whether fresh out of high school, seeking extra education, or wanting to transition to a career in tech, it will give an individual the skills and insight to achieve the desired success.
Commenting on the partnership, Director of OpenLabs Ghana, Sujith Jayaprakash, added:
Post-Covid, we had tried to get into the online learning space, but it’s been challenging. Partnering with AltSchool Africa and offering our target audience access to both worlds is exciting. This partnership will help us to provide our target audience with a world-class education and will enable us to contribute to the development of a skilled and empowered workforce in Ghana and across Africa. We are thrilled to be part of this momentous occasion and look forward to the positive impact this partnership will have on the tech education landscape in Africa.
The platform is structured around a comprehensive curriculum designed to impart the knowledge required to gain employment as a qualified software engineer without the rigours of a traditional four-year undergraduate degree programme. Students can use a flexible study schedule to complete all the modules while attending to their professional and personal commitments.
OpenLabs trains young students in emerging technologies to meet the market demand and boost the employability of today’s youth. The startup has been pivotal in Ghana’s technology transformation over the last 20 years. With support from their investor, Investisseurs & Partenaires, OpenLabs wanted to better understand their alums’ experience and measure the impact of its education and training on their lives.
AltSchool Africa is open to partnering with other schools across Africa that are looking to provide their students with a modern and relevant curriculum. By partnering with the portal, secondary schools, colleges, and tertiary institutions can access a world-class learning management system and online programs designed to prepare students for success in the global economy.
Last Year in February, AltSchool raised $1 million in a pre-Seed funding round led by Nigerian entertainer Folarin Falana (Falz). The round was also backed by other investors like Flutterwave Founder Olugbenga GB Agboola, Paystack Founder Shola Akinlade, Nigerian musician and rapper Akitoye Balogun (Ajebutter), Pledges, Nestcoin, and ODBA VC.