Technology
Digital Inclusion: What Does Equal Access to Education Mean in the Digital Age?
By Zohra Yermeche
The COVID-19 crisis and the impact, which it has had on learning across the world, has highlighted many of the digital disparities which exist in today’s world.
At a time when many of the world’s students shifted from physical to digital, we were also faced with the hard truth that today there are still 3.6 billion people in the world who are unconnected.
For students in the connected half of the world, the story is much different. While 1.2 billion children were affected by school closures across much of the world, our recent Consumer COVID-19 report found that students were able to substitute physical learning by spending 230 per cent more time on digital learning tools such as Google Class, Epic! and Seesaw Class.
This of course is a significant rise, but it is also an acceleration of a trend which we have steadily been tracking since our first Connect To Learn program exactly ten years ago.
The State of Broadband 2020 report estimates that there are twice as many people today who use the Internet compared to 2010. This rise in digital literacy, together with the imminent period of rapid digitalization of the economy, means that ensuring fair and equal access to both education and future job markets will rest on the extent of digital inclusion within our societies.
What is digital inclusion and why is it so important today?
Today, technology plays a much bigger role in the quality and scope of how we learn, such as new digital learning platforms which are estimated to reach $350 billion by 2025; what we learn, with a growing emphasis on programming, robotics, AI and automation; and how we can use it in the job market, with digital skillsets increasingly becoming a prerequisite of tomorrow’s workforce.
The changes which are happening today show the disparity between the developed and undeveloped world. If you are not connected, that shows you the leap which you have to make between the connectivity aspect, access to education and benefits which are derived from that.
Closing this digital divide, with those who are not connected or not considered to be digitally literate, is imperative to ensuring a fair distribution of digital opportunities across countries, locations, gender, socioeconomic status, and age.
Access to education in the digital age
In 2010, we co-founded the Connect To Learn initiative with the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Millennium Promise, with a focus on delivering connectivity and ICT tools to enhance teaching and learning in unconnected, underprivileged and largely unrepresented communities.
Since our first projects in the Millennium Villages, we’ve helped to connect and increase the digital inclusion of more than 200,000 students worldwide. As the program has evolved, we have increased our efforts to close the digital divide not just in terms of connectivity, but from a content, syllabus and platform side which is fundamental.
As a technology company, we quickly discovered that we can offer so much more than connectivity, but furthermore can help improve learning processes and methodologies so learning can become more impactful. For example, through partnerships with like-minded organizations, we have helped to digitalize and disseminate content through digital learning tools such as mobile apps.
One of the biggest differences from ten years ago is also that the nature of technology in an educational context, both as a medium and a means to enter the job market was still relatively immature as the landscape has evolved, we’ve come to understand the need to personalize and individualize learning so that we can improve learning outcomes in a meaningful way.
Giving people access to the right type of content is one aspect, another equally critical aspect is the human element. On top of the digital layer, students will still always need the engagement, inspiration and activation that comes from teachers and trainers who know about the topic. I believe that, even in the digital age, technology will never be able to replace this interaction, but rather can serve as an increasingly innovative medium for those critical learner-instructor interactions, such as through the Internet of Skills.
Digital inclusion through public-private partnerships
Today, there is a significant need for digital skills courses. Key technology areas such as AI, robotics and app development are advancing at such a rapid pace, which can make it difficult to ensure an effective transfer of competence to emerging workforces.
Such is the pace of change for topics such as these, public academic institutions will invariably struggle to take learning beyond a basic theoretical level. Public-private partnerships will therefore be key to addressing this, by developing advanced curriculums and delivering the necessary quality and scale of access.
As a sustainability pioneer in the private sector, we’ve understood the power of partnership, which is why we’re investing heavily in building out those partnerships with like-minded entities to create sustainable solutions in order to address the issues which the education sector faces today. A good example of this is the Ericsson Digital Lab program which is now live in several countries in partnership with local schools and community learning centres. The aim here is to share those competences that we have in-house on a much broader scale, addressing those critical skillset demands which are needed in tomorrow’s workforce.
This year, in response to the impact which COVID-19 has had on learning, we continuing these efforts by joining the UNESCO-led Global Education Coalition, launching Ericsson Educate and partnering with UNICEF to map school connectivity as part of the Giga project.
Through digital methodologies, and with a focus on improving digital skills for students across all communities, our commitment is to ensure that future generations continue to have the skills and knowledge to find opportunity in a changing digital world. This was what we set out to do when we launched Connect To Learn ten years ago, and this will continue to be our priority in this next critical decade of action.
Zohra Yermeche is the Program Director for Connect To Learn at Ericsson
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The co-founder of a freight logistics firm, Kobo360, Mr Obi Ozor, is back at the company after he stepped down in 2023 to become the Commissioner for Transportation in Enugu State.
He has reacquired shares of the company from investors, excluding the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which reaffirmed its commitment to supporting entrepreneurs driving innovation and development in Africa, according to a mail to TechCabal, which reported the news.
Recall that earlier, Kobo360 raised about $79 million from investors, including Juven, a spinoff from Goldman Sachs, IFC, and TLcom Capital.
However, due to its business model, the organisation has struggled to remain in business, forcing its lenders to cut off credit support, which has affected its operations.
The firm has experienced cash flow issues, which have made it impossible to pay truck drivers on time, resulting into declining trip volumes and sharp decline in revenue to keep operations going.
TechCabal reported that a former employee of Kobo360 claimed that truck drivers are paid upfront but had to wait 30 to 90 days for manufacturers and distributors to settle invoices.
“Our partnership with these banks was three-way, so tensions on the bank’s side led to us losing access to our customers’ domiciled accounts. These were major clients, and losing their business significantly reduced Kobo360’s trip volume, revenue, and overall growth,” the source was said to have stated.
Kobo360 began operations in 2017 and hoped to cut inefficiencies, reduce empty return trips, and improve pricing transparency through technology by matching truck owners with businesses needing to move goods.
But these goals have not been sustained because of the challenges the company faced.
Mr Ozor later stepped down for a political appointment in Enugu State. He was replaced by Ciku Mugambi, who later stepped down last October after the company continued to struggle to remain afloat.
This may have forced Mr Ozor to return to the organisation to salvage the situation.
According to TechCabal, IFC believes the situation is not beyond repairs.
“The challenging macroeconomic environment has created headwinds for startups across emerging markets, including in the logistics sector.
“The IFC remains committed to supporting entrepreneurs driving innovation and development across the continent,” it told the news platform.
By Dipo Olowookere
About $10 million has been attracted in investment by FairPlay from JPMorgan Chase, Infinity Ventures and Nyca Partners.
Infinity Ventures, whose founding team previously led PayPal’s Corporate Development and Venture efforts, brings deep expertise in identifying and scaling innovative financial technologies.
The chief executive of FairPlay, Mr Kareem Saleh, believes the funding support “not only validates our mission but also enables us to help more lenders and insurers make decisions that benefit their businesses and their customers.”
He noted, “This investment from a leading group of investors and financial institutions underscores the growing importance of AI safety in the banking and insurance sectors. We’re thrilled to have the support of such prestigious investors as we enter our next phase of growth.”
The firm received these fresh funds after it posted a threefold increase in business in 2024, demonstrating robust market demand for its Artificial Intelligence (AI) safety solutions.
FairPlay’s tools help companies using AI to make high-stakes decisions about consumers’ lives identify and correct blind spots in their decisioning systems.
Its customers find that the product increases revenue, enables them to stay compliant with regulations, and improves financial health outcomes for consumers.
This new funding will accelerate FairPlay’s mission of building fairness infrastructure for the Internet, thereby creating greater safety for all consumers in today’s race to AI adoption.
“FairPlay’s innovative fairness-as-a-service approach has demonstrated remarkable traction in the market. We’ve been particularly impressed by the calibre of institutions adopting FairPlay — including several of the top banks and Fortune 500 companies—because of its robustness and ability to deliver results faster.
“We believe FairPlay’s technology will become a tool for many institutions using AI to make important decisions,” a partner at Infinity Ventures, Jay Ganatra, remarked.
“FairPlay has built an impressive set of products to help its customers evaluate their models, broaden credit access, and strengthen the financial services ecosystem so that institutions of all sizes can adopt responsible AI practices,” the Head of Impact Finance and Advisory at JPMorgan Chase, Shuman Chakrabarty, commented.
“As early investors in FairPlay, we’ve watched the company consistently execute on its vision. Their impressive growth validates our long-standing conviction in both their mission and their ability to deliver pioneering AI solutions to the market,” a partner at Nyca, Jeremy Solomon, noted.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Group Chief Human Resources Officer of Interswitch, Mr Franklin Ali, has called for the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make work easier by boosting operational efficiency and driving economic growth.
Mr Ali, at the 2025 InnovateAI Conference Lagos held at the Landmark Centre, Lagos, submitted that, “The AI economy is a gateway to the knowledge economy, and it is imperative that we embrace this shift.”
“While AI adoption in leading economies like America and China remains below 50 per cent, these nations are at the forefront of AI advancements.
“To compete globally, Nigeria must prioritise reskilling and upskilling its workforce, fostering a mindset shift, and equipping professionals with core and enabling skills such as data literacy, JavaScript, and other technical competencies,” he further stated during a panel session titled AI and The Future of Work in Nigeria.
The Human Resources expert while emphasising the importance of targeted learning and problem-solving at the event themed Scaling AI Adoption in Nigeria: Catalysing Cross-Sectoral Innovation and Fostering Inclusive Growth, informed the participants that, “AI is not just a buzzword; it is a tool for solving real-world problems.”
“For instance, traffic congestion in Lagos is a challenge that can be addressed through AI-driven solutions.
“However, adept use of AI technology requires a deep understanding of core tech skills in areas like natural language processing, robotics, and machine learning.
“We must learn AI not for the sake of it but to solve specific problems that impact our society and economy,” he noted.
This year’s conference had Interswitch Group as a Platinum Sponsor for the second consecutive year, reinforcing its commitment to advancing AI-driven innovation across Africa.
By collaborating with key stakeholders and fostering industry-wide conversations, Interswitch aims to drive AI-powered innovation that will propel Nigeria’s digital economy forward.
As a pioneer in Africa’s fintech space, Interswitch remains dedicated to championing initiatives that harness technology’s transformative potential to unlock new opportunities, stimulate economic growth, and elevate user experiences.
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