Shasha Network is on an ambitious mission to provide digital learning in rural communities. 63% of Africans live in rural areas according to the World Bank, there is an opportunity to enhance access for learners in remote communities.

1. Gold in the Dust:
Unlocking the Value of Digital
Learning In Rural
AFRICA

2. CONTENTS
Foreword
Continuous Introspection
Realising the Opportunity
Solution
Back to Basics (B2B)
Our Approach
Opportunities and Constraints
Facing Forward
Acknowledgements
3
5
7
8
9
11
12
13
14

3. Foreword
Chasing Education in Africa
Every day, millions of young people in rural Africa walk to school, conquering rocky terrains and
gravel roads while enduring the menacing heat of the African sun. All of this effort is expended
in pursuit of a promised better future. This report is a testament to the current state of
education in rural areas across Africa.
The true gold of Africa lies in its people and similar to panning for gold, unlocking this potential
requires a great deal of skill, patience and dedication. According to the World Bank, 63% of
Africa's population lives in rural areas with a baffling majority still lacking access to information
and basic education. The average student spends a combined 12 years in primary and
secondary school, after which a majority of them are unable to proceed with their education
due to poor pass rates or lack of tuition. From a government’s perspective, this translates to
immense loss when a large percentage of manpower does not find itself economically active.
The ripple effect of this cost manifests itself in the form of early child marriages and youth
exploitation due to unemployment.
Are our education systems keeping their promise and will our young people, the future of the
continent be ready to face this unpredictable future? The biggest challenge that we face today
is that most of the students will enter the world lacking the adequate skills essential for them
to adapt to the modern economy. Though most rural societies still survive through subsistent
means; technological know-how has the opportunity to assist locals to innovate with their
agro-based livelihoods in order to achieve better life outcomes.
We at Shasha Network, believe that Africa's leapfrog is not too far away. The urgency of this
matter does not require that we wait for technology to find its way to the people, but that we
see this as an opportunity to bring technology to the people instead. For this process to
achieve its impact, it is necessary that digital learning technology be tailor-made to the
specifications of the context and that the key stakeholders such as local educators and
students participate in its creation.
A digitally integrated and adequately educated rural population will yield unimaginable
dividends. It's high time the private sector develops new business models and public sector
puts in place innovative policies that can guarantee shared prosperity. All this should be done
keeping in mind that education is at the heart of any society's development. This is why
Shasha Network is launching its rural education program, which will help accelerate digital
skills development in remote schools - making sure that no one is left behind
FARAI MUNJOMA
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Shasha Network

4. Inadequate computer hardware remains
a barrier for digital learning. Computer to
student ratio is approximately 1:90

5. Continuous Introspection
The past five years have been a great journey
filled with some wonderful learning
experiences in the school of hard knocks. It
has been these great lessons that have
inspired us to evolve and continue shaping
our mission towards achieving greater
impact as an African digital learning
company. In the past year alone, we re-
evaluated our business model from an
“online-based learning platform” to a “digital
learning solutions provider and education
consultancy.” This was done to strategically
position us to better work towards our
mission of being a key partner towards the
achievement of Sustainable Development
Goal 4.
SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable
quality education and promote lifelong
learning opportunities for all.
It was through this deep intra-company
reflection process that we began charting a
course based on the storms we were facing.
We realised that though our North Star was
noble, there are certain challenges we
needed to navigate to better serve the
education constituency. Chief of the
problems that we uncovered were the
broadband and connectivity issues that the
majority of African schools face.
Internet connection is a luxury for a majority
of schools that are still battling to provide
the basics of education. Most schools still
lack a strong internet connection. In the
same instance, we realised that internet
connectivity in homes was still a challenge
due to the high costs of data within our
market. After looking at these challenges, we
began the process of positioning ourselves
to better solve these challenges for our
customers. The end process of the business
model reengineering process resulted in the
birth of ShaCo (Shasha Connect), an offline
learning system that requires minimum
online content updates.
One of the greatest lessons from our
personal reflections have been a greater
need to understand the ecosystem in which
we are working. We have put this at the core
of our new business model. This inspired our
one week field trip to Mutasa, a rural
community 330 kilometers east of Harare,
where we set out to better understand the
learning environment of schools that are off
the grid. It is important to come into the
market with an open mindset, this allows
you to be open to details and information
that may have been hidden throughout the
remote research process. These are the little
bits of gold that one cannot find on Google.
You have to immerse yourselves in the
challenge and get your hands dirty to
discover them.The findings we have had will
help shape the solutions we are providing in
supporting the achievement of the vision set
out in SDG 4. As an emerging education
consultancy, we hope that these findings will
be able to support the work of various
partners who are also working towards the
same vision.
From Left Lionel Tarumbwa and Farai Munjoma

6. Discovering Gold in
Zimbabwe's Rural Schools

7. Realising the Opportunity
Rural schools in Zimbabwe have recorded low national examination pass rates, with the
majority failing to achieve a 50% pass rate. This is the case in both primary and secondary
schools. Learners are exiting the system without the basic skills essential for them to
compete in a rapidly evolving economy. This can be traced back to the lack of adequate
learning and teaching material which affect the achievement of curriculum objectives.
The schools lack any access to digital learning tools due to funding challenges, further
putting them behind better equipped urban classrooms. In addition to lacking continuous
professional development opportunities to maintain the skills levels of educators, the
current teacher training programme does not address computer literacy as a core skill. The
introduction of a new curriculum has posed an even greater challenge to the schools.
Teachers are facing content that they were not adequately trained to deliver. This has
resulted in others failing to cover lessons on subject matter that will be tested in the final
examination.
How do we bridge the digital learning infrastructure
and skills gap in rural Zimbabwe to improve learning
outcomes for learners?

8. Solution
Low resource communities such as those in rural Zimbabwe are in need of a low cost solution
that addresses the numerous challenges that they are battling with.
An Inclusive Digital Learning System
During our field trip, we realised that most digital learning products are neglecting educators.
They primarily focus on providing content for learners without giving much thought to
educators who are the facilitators of learning. ShaCo Educator Channel will include content
that helps teachers with planning for their lessons and their continuous development. These
teacher courses must be the ideal refresher course to ensure that teachers do not become
redundant. The educators channel on our Kolibri channel will be related to the learners'
channel to ensure cohesion between learners and educators.
Smoothing a Rough Transition
There is a need to create content that covers thematic areas in the new curriculum that people
in education are currently grappling with. Digital learning content such as video, images and
audio learning content can help schools successfully transition into the new curriculum. ShaCo
Educator Channel will provide the much-needed content that will be crucial in bridging the
skills and knowledge gap that currently exists because of the new curriculum.

9. Educators need training that focuses on the development of their computer literacy. In our
discussions, we realised that such a programme should start with the basics of IT.
As one staff member put it, they actually need to be trained
on how to switch on the computers.
An effective training programme will be structured in three parts focusing on the different
literacy levels of every educator (Beginner; Intermediate; Advanced). At the most advanced
level, the focus will be on elements such as “Data in Education” courses that help them with
strategic decision making for the classroom. The training should be context-based. For
instance, training for Microsoft Office will be “Microsoft Office for Education.”
.
Bridging the Infrastructure Gap
The infrastructure gap includes lack of buildings, furniture and computer hardware. A low-cost
digital learning framework will be accommodative of several tools to address the existing gap
as funding remains a key challenge. During our digital learning demonstration, we discovered
that
low-end smartphones and tablets are useful tools for ensuring
access to high quality visual and audio learning content.
Schools which allow students to have essential learning tools such as cellphones can cover
some ground before they transition to more advanced tools such as desktops and virtual
reality kits. This is in line with the stance Dr L. Dokora, the former Minister of Primary and
Secondary Education, had taken to relax rules that prohibit students from bringing laptops
and cellphones to schools.
Back to Basics (B2B)

10. Shasha's new approach is centred on getting the right
partners on board to create a quality product that
effectively delivers low cost but high impact solutions.
We will also focus on scaling the education innovation
dialogue through various platforms.

11. Our Approach
Alignment of Values
In our goal to achieve the desired outcomes,
we are aligning ourselves with the key
policies in the current education system. We
are acting as a bridge between policymaking
and implementation. The key challenge in
the Zimbabwe education ecosystem is
misalignment with the new curriculum
which educators and content creators are
still adapting to. Our goal is to be able to play
a key role in ensuring that the new
curriculum is implemented successfully.
Second, is aligning ourselves to the
Education 5.0 vision.
The Education 5.0 program focuses on
Education that delivers on Research,
Teaching, Community Engagement,
Innovation and Industrialisation
Apart from providing great academic
content, we want to broaden learners
perspectives beyond the classroom to the
issues highlighted in Education 5.0.
Leverage on Content Partners
In our consultations, we were recommended
to find educators who are considered
thought leaders, those who are already in the
field of offering other teachers training. Our
consultants will lead the content creation
process. The consultants are usually subject
matter experts who have already created a
loyal following and their knowledge is much
sought after by those in their field.
Technology Partnerships
Leverage on Kolibri and raspberry pi to
provide offline learning content. Kolibri
provides the software that is needed to host
the content that we will be developing in-
house. The use of Kolibri will allow us to keep
costs minimal and the offline hosting option
will keep us within the promise of ensuring
access offline.
Raspberry Pi is a low-cost microprocessor
that will be used to run the Kolibri software
and share it with other devices. The total
value of delivering the full product to the
market will be below 150 USD.
Intergrating Innovations
Kolibri's offline system allows Shasha
Network to develop localised content and
upload it online for later use as offline
content in remote areas.
Shasha Network will develop all localised
content and assist schools in the
implementation of their digital learning
strategies.
The Raspberry pi computer acts a good
server for the content which will be accessed
offline. After setting up a local network, other
computers within the computer lab can
access content from the server.

12. Opportunities and Constraints
Opportunities
There is a clear absence of organisations
focusing on teacher training programmes
that help teachers upskill
Current existing IT training programmes
are not designed to the specifications of
the educator, they are somewhat
generalLack of digital learning content
addressing new curriculum subjects and
problem areas
The untapped gap in continuous learning
development for educators. Most teachers
stressed that the average number of
books they have read after leaving teacher
training college is two (this presents a big
knowledge gap as teachers have few
refresher courses)
The mid-tier and low-tier end of the digital
learning market is under-explored due to
lack of context and existing
predispositions that portray rural areas as
difficult to operate in
Connecting schools to off-grid sources of
energy such as Solar
Constraints
Inadequate digital learning infrastructure
in the greater part of the target market
(software and hardware are still missing in
most places)
Lack of electricity or constant power
outages in most remote schools which
hinders the effective use of electronic
devices
Too much innovation may be traumatic to
some of the teachers, hence some
resistance may be experienced at the
beginning

13. Shasha is on a mission to activate human potential
across Africa. Within Southern Africa, the countries
share a common history and Zimbabwe's education
system has been a model for most countries in the
region. Beginning September 2019, Shasha will start
working with the two schools highlighted in this
report, Mwoyoweshumba High and Mutasa Primary
school. The goal of the exercise is to test our
innovative approach as we prepare for its replication
throughout the region. Over the next 6-12 months,
we will;
Work with local teachers to develop content for
the new curriculum
Train 50+ teachers at both schools with 21st-
century skills i.e Digital communication, Data
analysis etc
Expose 650+ learners to computer literacy and
digital learning
Track students performance and collect content
engagement data.
Assist to improve Mwoyoweshumba's pass rate
from 16% to 35%.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Facing Forward
Regional Expansion for Shasha Network

14. Acknowledgements
This report would not have been possible without the support from Junior Achievement and
Facebook Africa, who through their Out-Of-School grant made it possible for Shasha
Network to undertake this initiative. A great deal of planning and coordination was invested
in this project. Thanks to our Business Development Officer Lionel Tarumbwa and the
teachers from Mwoyoweshumba secondary and Mutasa primary school. Special mention to
E. Kahanda Marira, A. Mashingaide, C. Chivanga, A. Matongo, L. Harahwa, M. Chimboza and R.
Bamusi for their commitment to this initiative.
The Research and Development process would not have yielded much dividend without the
support of Kolibri's Laura Danforth. Special thanks to Ng Aik Yang from Maju Collective
Singapore for his technical support. Finally, many thanks to our advisors and supporters who
invested their valuable time and resources to make this endeavour fruitful, S. Velempini, M.
Maguma, G. Tarumbwa and D. Jaravaza for their continuous support.

15. Shasha Network
1-24th Avenue
Sherwood Drive, Mabelreign
Harare, Zimbabwe
www.shashanetwork.com
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