1. Company History
     The eLearnAfrica Academic Advisory Board  

2. Digital Transformation of Higher Education in Africa
     Open Education Resources (OERs)  

3. Online Courses for Agenda 2063

4. Partnership with the African Association of Universities

5. Relationship with the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD)

6. Supporting STEM Education throughout Africa

7. Relationship with US Historically Black Colleges and Universities

8. References

eLearnAfrica is a Pan-African online learning company. The company launched its internet portal and Android mobile application in September of 2016 and received approximately one million visits in the first three months.  The company’s website states that “eLearnAfrica is a social enterprise committed to increasing and expanding access to educational and professional development opportunities throughout Africa.”^[1]

Company History

The company began by building a catalog of massive open online courses and online degree programs.  The catalog includes collections of courses in high-demand areas for African job markets (especially English for the workplace, software development, accounting, and entry-level skills).  The importance of entrepreneurship has also brought special attention to the courses for small business owners and start-ups.  The South African-based, emerging-markets investment news website VentureBurn (of MemeBurn) highlighted this upon the launch of the eLearnAfrica portal.  Currently, the catalog has over 2,000 courses from highly respected organizations and universities from around the world.

eLearnAfrica brands itself as, “Africa’s trusted source for online learning”.  The reasoning for this was expressed by the company’s CEO, Brook Negussie, in a 2016 interview with the South African business magazine Destiny Man: “We set out to combine local knowledge with long-term global expertise to bring the most trusted online educational content to Africa.”^[2]

The eLearnAfrica Academic Advisory Board

eLearnAfrica’s Academic Advisory Board is presided over by Prof. Dr. Ilan Chet, a microbiologist highly regarded for his contributions to agriculture and academia in general.  The board membership is currently comprised of the executive officers of key administrative and educational coordinating bodies as well as at-large members defined by their noteworthy professional and academic trajectories.  The Association of Arab Universities (AArU) is represented by Secretary General Dr. Prof.  Sultan Abu-Orabi.  Dr. Stéphane Monney Mouandjo represents the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD) as its Director General.  Prof. Dr. Abdelhamid Al-Zoheiry is the President of the Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI). At-large positions are filled by Prof. Dr. Michèle Gendreau-Massaloux, the former Secretary General of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and former advisor to the French President, the former Minister of Education of the Republic of Rwanda, Prof. Dr. Silas Lwakabamba, and by Mr Mark Lester, the Director of Partnership of FutureLearn, the UK massive open online course provider.^[3]

Digital Transformation of Higher Education in Africa

eLearnAfrica is primarily dedicated to supporting the digital transformation of higher education in Africa.  It does this by working closely with universities and policy makers across the continent.

The strategy for digital transformation combines internet-based technologies with academic excellence to design and develop online learning materials for use in blended learning and online degrees. 

The company works with stakeholders and policy makers to guide government policy regarding online education to assure that academic programs meet the highest standards for academic quality and customer satisfaction.

Open Education Resources (OERs)

eLearnAfrica helps African universities take advantage of available Open Education Resources (OERs) by advising on free learning materials available across a variety of online libraries.  eLearnAfrica counsels the universities on course selection and the best use of online resources for blending teaching, which combines online and classroom-based learning.

eLearnAfrica also develops multimedia learning materials based on OERs for universities that require materials designed for more interactive learning experiences.

Online Courses for Agenda 2063

eLearnAfrica is developing online courses in support of the widest understanding of The Africa We Want” with the Association of African Universities and the African Union Commission (AUC) of the African Union.  Agenda 2063 is a fifty-year strategic vision of sustainable development across Africa, based on the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

The online courses have been designed in a modular fashion so that they can be taken individually, or as an interconnected series.  Each individual course is an in-depth treatment of the seven Aspirations that guide the Agenda.

The first course to be launched is an Overview course covering the history of Pan Africanism, the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063, and the seven Aspirations.

The second course covers issues pertaining to Higher Education within the Agenda 2063 framework.  The Higher Education course is designed specifically for administrators, policy-makers, and professors throughout Africa.

The fully online courses will be made available in 2019 in two forms – leadership and popular editions. Both formats are aimed at creating dialogue for socialization of the Agenda.

Partnership with the African Association of Universities

On February 3, 2017, eLearnAfrica signed a historic Agreement with the Association of African Universities to provide services to the Association and its membership.^[4]  The AAU counts among its membership some 380 African Universities and the Agreement aims to benefit 10 million students. 

The Agreement goes on to explain the importance of the relationship: “The partnership will permit the AAU to support its member universities in the development and deployment of online learning resources.  AAU member universities will be able to participate in Africa’s largest resource for online courses and degree programs.  eLearnAfrica platform will allow member universities to use the eLearnAfrica Learning Management System (LMS) by taking advantage of user-friendly technologies to support the didactic and administrative functions of the universities.”

The announcement of the Agreement noted the selection of eLearnAfrica by the Association: “The AAU has chosen eLearnAfrica because of the company’s progressive vision, online learning expertise, and easy-to-use tools.  The Secretary General of the AAU, Prof. Etienne Ehouan Ehile, stated that, ‘The AAU continues to support its member universities to improve the quality of the education that they deliver to students. As an Association, challenges of limited access to quality higher education continue to haunt us. Therefore building capacities of African universities to be innovative in their teaching and learning methods for increased access to quality higher education is top priority for the AAU.  This partnership with eLearnAfrica will help us achieve this goal.'"

Relationship with the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD)

The African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD) is an inter-ministerial coordinating and training body that works with ministries from 37 African nations.^[5]  eLearnAfrica has worked with CAFRAD since the founding of the company. In April 2018 the two organizations agreed to significantly deepen their collaboration.^[6]  As such, the relationship is centered on eLearnAfrica’s ability to provide online educational resources and opportunities to African Ministries organized in CAFRAD.

With the agreement, eLearnAfrica will develop and make available online degrees for civil servants.  Work on the first of these degrees, a Masters in Public Administration began in October 2018.  The MPA will be made available to civil servants throughout the continent, and will include a variety of specializations developed in coordination with leading universities throughout the continent. 

Supporting STEM Education throughout Africa

The demand for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is a key component of education for development, especially in Africa.^[7]  Key sectors of the productive economy are rooted in STEM skills, and advanced education in these areas assures the highest quality of leadership in these vital economic activities.

eLearnAfrica is developing online courses and advanced degrees in Agriculture, Civil Engineering, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).  Specific degrees and areas of specialization within these fields are being made available at African universities through blended and fully online versions.

eLearnAfrica announced the availability of financing for universities for the design and development of these learning materials and fully online degree programs in September 2018.

Relationship with US Historically Black Colleges and Universities

In keeping with its Pan African mission, eLearnAfrica works to serve Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States.  This work is based on sharing learning opportunities about Africa with US students, developing online degrees, and creating multi-lateral partnerships between HBCUs and leading universities in Africa.  {{AFC submission|t||ts=20181120164358|u=2A01:C50E:3523:F600:1C21:6B1:627B:DCAE|ns=118|demo=}}

References

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