TECHAiDE: Closing the Education Gap in Rural Ghana with ASANKA

TECHAiDE, a Ghanaian social enterprise and graduate of the UNICEF StartUp Lab, aims to revolutionize education in rural and underserved areas through its innovative learning management system, ASANKA. Recognizing the challenges faced by students in locations with limited internet connectivity, TECHAiDE developed ASANKA to provide learners and teachers with comprehensive, accessible, offline educational resources that close the learning gap.

Founded by Kafui Prebbie, TECHAiDE joined the UNICEF Startup Lab accelerator to connect with UNICEF and key government bodies like the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service. The accelerator program also provided TECHAiDE with valuable hands-on sector-relevant technical knowledge from UNICEF, business support and networking opportunities, helping to refine ASANKA to improve its user-focus, reach and impact. Indeed, through the StartUp Lab, TECHAiDE has been able to work closely with the Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling, a partnership that is proving instrumental in scaling ASANKA for greater impact and enabling TECHAiDE to reach more schools and students. 

ASANKA addresses three key educational challenges: Curriculum & Content Distribution, Evidence-based Decision Making, and Localized Content. It enables content sharing by Wi-Fi without the need for internet, saving data costs for both students and schools. The platform also gathers analytics on user engagement, allowing decision-makers to make informed choices about educational strategies. Additionally, ASANKA offers a rich library of localized, learning content, ensuring that students access relevant, engaging and quality assured materials.

As a result, even in remote areas without internet, ASANKA is empowering students to learn at their own pace, while improving literacy and digital skills. A machine learning component also enables ASANKA to personalize the learning experience, enhancing student engagement and potential learning outcomes.