Who are the trusted companions on Funzi’s journey?
The popular African proverb "if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together", is one we take seriously here at Funzi. We understand this to be true in both life and business.
Reaching the Fourth Sustainable Development Goal requires a global effort that involves governments, international organizations, and industry alliances. The goal requires many advocates of change and an enormous amount of collective ambitions. Providing equal opportunity for education is not only an endeavor of institutions but also one in which the private sector also has a significant role.
The driving force; collaborations between the public and private sectors
The private sector has proven to be the driving force of change in education. Unlike the public sector, sit is typically more agile and faster to adapt to change. Organizations in the private sector, such as social enterprises, have proven that it is possible to run profitable businesses whilst simultaneously offering goods and services that are socially and environmentally sustainable for communities. Once the two sectors (public and private) collaborate, the societal impact is remarkable.
When Funzi was founded in 2014 mobile industry and digital media pioneers, and advocates of Sustainable Development Goals, our original idea was to provide all our courses for free for the end-user. Approximately 18 months ago, we redefined our approach. From inception, we have made it our mission to make sure everyone is included and therefore will continue to provide a selection of our courses for free. But as Funzi evolves into a comprehensive digital learning product, we now also provide affordable paid courses in addition to our free courses.
Along our seven-year journey, we have found trusted partners to join us in our quest for accessible learning for all. Our partnerships, alongside our highly talented Funzi crew, are our most critical assets. Partnerships ensure that our courses are created from high-standard educational content, help us spread awareness, build trust and ultimately reach our learners.
Who do we partner with?
What makes a perfect partner for Funzi? The partners we join forces with must first and foremost believe in our mission and share similar values. Our mission is big; to bring learning to 90% of the global population. It certainly takes a lot of determination. We envision a world where everyone has the skills they need to live a happy and healthy life.
Our journey in developing a digital learning service that is available for everyone has consisted of trial and error, accomplishments and failures, reaching milestones, and celebrating our big and small victories. It takes persistence and bravery to accomplish our goals, and our partners have certainly been and will continue to be a crucial part of this journey.
Over the years, we have had wonderful opportunities to partner with organizations with their own aspiring goals to change the world for the better. We have worked with UN organizations, migrant organizations, NGOs, governmental and educational institutions, Facebook, and other game-changers that connect people, spread knowledge, and genuinely help people build a better future for themselves and their communities.
Read more about our partner projects here.
How do we build our learning content?
We are dedicated to building a digital learning service that enables millions of people around the world to access 21st century skills development. Whilst we specialize in product development and audience insight, we lean on the expertise of partners that specialize in research and world-renowned education content.
Our highly regarded content partners provide us with the learning material that we “Funzify'' and distribute to millions of learners globally. This includes organizations such as the UNDP, Harambee, Aaltoes, UNESCO, and the University of Turku, to name a few.
Our partnership with Pearson, the world’s leading learning content company, has allowed us further to scale our course offering by dozens of paid courses. As a result, we can provide learners with high-quality learning material paired with our scientifically proven learning method.
How do we reach our learners?
With the help of our distribution partnerships, we have been able to enter markets in which our partners have a reputation as a trusted company or organization amongst our target audience. In turn, our partners benefit by providing added value to their consumers. Our partners have done their market research and have an established customer or user base. They have confidence that Funzi courses can benefit their users and help lift their skills to the next level.
Funzi is easy to install to a partner's site and requires minimal to no coding. We can customize our service to meet partners’ needs. Our distribution partners are job sites, recruiting companies, mobile network operators, messaging services, universities, and other digital learning platforms. With these partnerships, we can create unique solutions for the learners.
Africa Work is Africa’s number one recruitment service, and our partnership strives to improve the employability of millions of people in 37 African countries. AfricaWork promotes Funzi free and paid courses across their recruitment platforms to help job seekers gain relevant employability skills and improve their chances of finding jobs. The applicants looking to grow in their careers can improve their critical 21st century employability skills while seeking a new job or next step in their career.
“With our partnership with Funzi, AfricaWork can now offer job seekers in Africa with a holistic recruitment service that bridges critical skills gaps in Africa.”
-Frederic de Morcourt, CEO and Founder of AfricaWork
Indosat Oredoo is Indonesia’s leading telecommunications company with 60 million users. Indosat offers Funzi courses as part of their servicescape. The partnership will have a large-scale impact on digital education in Indonesia as millions of mobile users get access to Funzi’s selection of courses. The collaboration bridges the gap in quality learning and accelerates digital education in the world’s fourth most populated country. The partnership enables millions of people an opportunity to develop their employability, entrepreneurship, and other invaluable 21 century skills.
“As the world is changing rapidly and the emergence conditions require new skills and new methods of learning. Mobile technology has already changed many industries. In the post-pandemic world, it is only logical that the change reaches learning as well. This collaboration being one of our biggest implementations yet, it is grand that it is happening in one of the most populated countries in the world.”
-Aape Pohjavirta, Founder & President of Funzi
Excel Inc. is a digital learning company that allows learners to learn at their own pace with curriculum-aligned content for all grade 10 – grade 12 core subjects. They combine different methods of learning such as videos, simulations, gamification, and assessments. All methods are available and accessible both online and offline. The South African company supports online learning for primary education, high school, and universities. A selection of Funzi courses is part of Excel Inc’s learning repertory. Together we are making progress in including Funzi free courses as a part of the curriculum with selected universities in South Africa.
Ayoba is an instant messaging application designed from Africa for Africans. It provides a world-class messaging platform that reflects local needs and aspirations. The app has incorporated sophisticated end-to-end encryption to keep its users’ data safe and ensure their privacy. In the future, they plan to expand and support other platforms and devices and add exciting features and services to their repertoire. Funzi is being incorporated into their service selection, allowing millions of Africans to learn new skills and get ahead in their lives.
Flash is the largest informal retail network in Africa. Flash is currently training its South African traders to sell digital goods and services that consumers love. The traders help their customers access various digital products and receive a commission for every trade. Flash uses Funzi’s flagship course, Founder 101, to help the traders on their entrepreneurial journey and become successful in their business.
Snapplify is a South African edtech company and one of Africa’s most comprehensive textbook and digital learning content distributors. They collaborate and partner with educational institutions and the broader education ecosystem to increase quality education for learners and educators in disadvantaged communities across Africa. Funzi courses are included in Snapplify’s content library and made available to a large audience of educators and learners across Africa.
Simma Media is a content distribution firm that provides international content and distribution solutions for its clients across five continents: Europe, Latin America, the USA, Africa, and Australasia. The primary goal of the Funzi and Simma Media partnership is the expansion of Funzi’s market presence in Latin America.
We also work with communities
Learning is a powerful way to create and share new knowledge amongst communities. Together with grass-root community partners, we continue to help people that previously lacked access to 21st century skills development and make learning available to everyone.
If your organization is interested in an easily scalable learning service and has a target audience with financial or device restrictions, get in touch with us. Together, we can walk the journey towards a world where learning is accessible for all.
If you want to learn more about our partnership opportunities, send us an email!