Sim Shagaya: Nigerian innovator fixes educational sector with unique technology

- A Nigerian innovator, Sim Shagaya, has introduced a system to complement the output of the educational sector

- His creation, known as uLesson, is currently the preferred alternative as it combines both online and offline options for users

- The educational component of Nigeria's 2019 budget was less than the preferred standard recommended by UNESCO

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One of the main actors in Nigeria’s digital space, Sim Shagaya, has introduced an edtech started known as uLesson, to complement efforts in the country’s educational system.

This comes in the wake of attempts by digital innovators to eradicate the challenges that the sector faces.

A look at Nigeria’s $29 billion 2019 budget showed that less that 10% of the amount was allocated for the educational sector.

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This fell short of the 26% recommended for developing countries by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Per a report by qz.com, the sector has continuously been faced with limited infrastructure as well as mediocre teaching standards.

In that respect, some anxious parents have resorted to getting “lesson teachers” for their wards.

Shagaya’s approach however comes as a preferred alternative as it attempts to merge online and offline components to meet learning needs of millions of Nigerian students.

On its mobile app, uLesson gives users the opportunity to register take tests and measure their learning progress.

Its offline component sends its full library of learning materials to registered users on SD cards.

The content can then be plugged into phones and accessed in a seamless manner without download or streaming costs.

YEN.com.gh understands that the service will be immediately available to secondary school students in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Liberia.

These are the five Anglophone West African countries that share similar curricula and take school-leaving tests set by the West African Examinations Council.

In other news, the Bank of Ghana has introduced a platform with which commercial banks can trade in real-time.

The decision, according to the Central Bank, is in line with measures to help stabilize the cedi against its major trading currencies.

Referred to as the Refinitiv Matching Platform, it forms part of the Bank of Ghana’s plan to provide a transparent trading system.

This, per a report by Business Insider, would create a stable pricing strategy for the local currency.

According to the governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, the platform is the latest addition to the number measures the bank is employing to stabilize the cedi.

“The adoption of this platform is key to deepening the local FX market, and we, therefore, expect full adoption from every bank. I expect this platform to play an effective role in further transforming the interbank market into a deeper, liquid and more efficient one which would, in turn, support the central bank’s mandate of price and financial stability,” Dr Addison noted.

YEN.com.gh understands that other major stakeholders such as the Bulk Oil Distribution Companies and mining firms would soon be rolled unto the platform.

This would help them see in real-time the trading position of the cedi against the other currencies.

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Source: YEN.com.gh