Qualifies to represent Africa in the Global EdTech Startups Awards final in London
With an unwavering commitment to developing learning solutions that create impact, improve academic achievement, and create opportunities for learners to seize their future when the likelihood of doing so did not otherwise exist, it is no surprise that Gidi Mobile has been recognized as the No. 1 EdTech Startup in Nigeria and as one of the best EdTech Startups of the Year, currently running to be crowned the best EdTech Startup in the World. The announcement was made after the Startup qualified for the Global EdTech Startups Awards Semi-Final that took place on the 4th of November 2021.
The Global EdTech Startups Awards Regionals had 1,300 Startup applicants fiercely in pursuit of a chance to hit the global stage at the London Finals, significantly, Gidi Mobile was part of the twenty-one (21) EdTech Startups that qualified to represent, not just Nigeria, but Africa on the global stage. The journey to this vantage point is one that saw Gidi Mobile’s innovative product – gidimo, pitched alongside other EdTech solutions in Nigeria; in Nigeria, the rounds had applicants competing for the opportunity to represent the EdTech innovations coming out of Nigeria. Ultimately, the esteemed Judges of the Global EdTech Startups Awards (GESA) recognized and lauded gidimo as a major game-changer in the EdTech space during the Semi-Final.
The Gidi Mobile team and their Founder, Dr. Tj Adegbesan, are excited, but equally unsurprised as they have in the past been recognized by behemoths like Google for their commitment to making learning accessible, fun, and rewarding for the youth of the developing world. The team is confident in its ability to stand out at the finals in London alongside the most well-known players in the global EdTech industry. They hope to bring the joy back home, as a Lagos-born product, designed to serve millions of students across the developing world.
Speaking on his passion for education and the need to ensure Nigerians get the learning required to get ahead, Dr. Tunji Adegbesan, the Founder and CEO of Gidi Mobile said
“My passion isn’t for education but for personal advancement, I am convinced that learning is the key to delivering personal advancement. The core of what determines people’s future in an increasingly knowledge-driven world in a post-fourth industrial revolution world is what they know and can do. My passion is for people to get the knowledge, skills, and attitude they need to find their way ahead by themselves because I also think it is uplifting, it gives dignity when you are able to deliver your growth by yourself. That is why Gidi Mobile’s mission statement is to deliver opportunity and the capacity required to exploit that opportunity to every willing learner. You need to be a learner to be able to do that and you need to be willing.”
As a seasoned lecturer, Adegbesan worked in Lagos Business School, the graduate business school of the Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria, from 2006 to 2014. Prior to founding Gidi Mobile, he was the Director of the Centre for Competitiveness and Strategy at the Lagos Business School.
Secondary school students between the ages of 10-16 years rely on the gidimo School Success Program (SSP) to achieve academic excellence. With a flawed educational system that has continually degenerated, Gidi Mobile’s gidimo SSP is the solution to driving an educational system that is inclusive and not limited to the four walls of a classroom. The case of Sadiq, a gate attendant who, upon using gidimo SSP, was able to fulfill his dreams of furthering his education at a higher institution, is proof that this solution is beneficial for an even wider demographic. Sadiq is currently studying Computer Science at the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria.
In 2018, only 7% of Nigeria’s $24 billion budget was earmarked for education and that is not changing anytime soon. Also, insecurity in the North has disrupted academic activities, increasing the number of out-of-school children from 10.5 million to 13.5 million, the highest in the world according to a survey conducted by United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). These are the issues, and they cannot be left unattended in the face of a growing population.
On GESAwards, Dr. Tunji Adegbesan had this to say
“First our journey has been a very challenging journey, we sit in a world where you need to get technology right, you need to get learner fit right, you need to get parent/learner stakeholder fit right, we need to get the educational institution fit right, we need to get regulator/public sector fit right. All five need to be there, so, it has not always been easy to deliver a solution that ticks all five (5) boxes. So, whenever someone comes along to tell us to keep going or that we are doing it right, it makes us excited, it renews our energy. For us, it is a recognition of our own belief that high engagement is probably the most scalable and the most impactful approach to learning at scale. If we cannot get the learners interested in learning, we are not going anywhere. For us, qualifying for the Global final of the GESAwards is very experienced, very expert, very specialist people telling us that we are on to something. For us, 2022 is a year of growth, validation, and a good impetus for a number of growth initiatives that we are pursuing right now.“
With expansion plans across different countries of the world, Gidi Mobile is on its way to achieving its mission of using learning to create livelihood at an unprecedented scale.
