chalkboardeducation
Chalkboard Education
24 posts
The mobile app that reconnects students to their courses. Proudly made in Accra, Ghana. http://chalkboard.education
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chalkboardeducation · 7 years ago
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We’re Hiring! Experienced Sales Manager Wanted
The ideal candidate is a motivated, well-organized individual who has a deep understanding of prospecting and developing strong relationships with customers.
Being a sales manager at Chalkboard Education is both intense and rewarding. It not only focuses on teamwork and culture, but also, and most importantly, has a strong emphasis on business-to-business sales in the Higher Education industry.
The sales manager will drive the sales in Ghana and in other African markets in the future.
Responsibilities
As part of the role, you will be speaking to a wide range decision makers – from Universities and local education agencies. You will be responsible for the entire sales process, from prospecting to product demonstrations to bringing clients on board yourself – getting all of the credit for your hard work!
Establish new accounts with universities and higher education institutes through strategic market research and planning.
Monitor competition by gathering current marketplace information on pricing, products and technologies.
Constantly improve professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks.
Maintain historical records through weekly reporting to Country Manager.
Contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.
Qualifications
Proven track record of B2B sales deals.
5+ years' of sales experience
Experience in ICT or innovation
Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Business
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Only candidates with a proven track record of B2B sales deals + serious references will be considered.
Salary Structure: Attractive Base Salary + Commission. 
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chalkboardeducation · 7 years ago
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Chalkboard Education at the 6th Africa Youth and Student Summit
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Our Country Manager Genevieve (second from the left), gave a masterclass on emerging technologies and training at the 6thAfrica Youth and Student Summit at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Here are her thoughts after attending the conference.
The penetration on technology in our homes, schools and places of work is higher than it has ever been before.
Africa has over 200 million smartphone users which translates to 26.91% of her population connected to the internet.
Ghana for instance has seen device ownership grow from 3% in 2003 to 116% in 2017.
Curious behavior in urban households reveals that many people watch one screen while viewing another in their hand.
The figures are encouraging and show the demand for smartphones and high-speed internet.
However, the 6th Africa Youth and Student Summit delivered quite the reality check. In as much as all the participants had smartphones, laptops and flat screen Television sets in their households, over 90% have never used the devices for academic purposes.
Participants from Zimbabwe and Rwanda had the best-case scenarios by which they had harnessed technology for hands on training. Students from these countries were required to submit assignments and communicate with their professors digitally via Learning Management Systems(L.M.S.) and emails.
Participants from Liberia showed the least use of technology with participants revealing that they still use black boards and chalk as well as paper based note taking.
It was during this summit that the participants were introduced to possibilities of e-learning, m-learning, virtual reality and augmented reality.
For African students to compete favorably with students from Europe, Asia and the Americas, higher learning institutions need to step away from outdated teaching tools and methods and embrace modern pedagogics.
The students already have the devices in their hands and homes, all that is left is content delivery.
Genevieve Simiyu, Country Manager, Chalkboard Education
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chalkboardeducation · 7 years ago
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Communiqué : Chalkboard Education, startup spécialisée dans le “mobile learning”,  lève 200 000 euros.
Chalkboard Education, entreprise spécialisée dans le “mobile learning” au Ghana, a levé 200 000 euros auprès de la Fondation Jacobs pour financer son développement en Afrique de l’Ouest.
Créée en 2015, Chalkboard Education a développé une application qui permet aux universités, instituts de formation et entreprises de digitaliser leurs contenus et de les distribuer sur les appareils mobiles des étudiants. Les étudiants peuvent alors accéder à leurs cours n’importe où et n’importe quand, y compris sans connection Internet.
Grâce à la technologie de Chalkboard Education, les organisations peuvent élargir leurs cursus à des programmes d’apprentissage à distance, désormais accessibles depuis n’importe quel téléphone portable. “Notre mission est de démocratiser l’accès à l’éducation et à la formation en Afrique”, souligne Adrien Bouillot, le président et co-fondateur de Chalkboard Education.
Les fonds levés auprès de la Fondation Jacobs permettront à l’équipe de Chalkboard Education de poursuivre le développement de leurs opérations au Ghana et en Côte d’Ivoire. Cet apport de fonds permettra également à Chalkboard Education de développer ses outils à l’usage des populations rurales et mal connectées.
Selon le cabinet McKinsey, afin de remplir leurs objectifs de croissance, les pays d’Afrique subSaharienne devront former 1 million d’étudiants par an au cours des dix prochaines années. Cependant, les infrastructures actuelles ne permettent pas d’accueillir cet afflux d’étudiants.
Pour Fabio Segura, Directeur des Programmes Internationaux de la Fondation Jacobs, “la combinaison entre l’éducation et les nouvelles technologies est un outil primordial pour accompagner la transformation des systèmes éducatifs en Afrique”. “Nous sommes ravis d’ajouter Chalkboard Education à notre portfolio de partenaires dont la mission est d’améliorer l’accès et la qualité de l’éducation en Côte d’Ivoire, à travers notre programme TRECC.”
A propos de Chalkboard Education
Chalkboard Education est une entreprise spécialisée dans le “mobile learning”(e-learning sur téléphones mobiles), lauréate de nombreux concours et prix internationaux. La startup a notamment été soutenue et financée par Bpifrance, la Fondation de France et figure parmi les meilleures startups africaines sélectionnées par le prestigieux Seedstars Summit. Chalkboard Education a cumulé 1000 utilisateurs au Ghana et en Côte d’Ivoire. Pour en savoir plus: https://chalkboard.education/
A propos de la Fondation Jacobs
La Fondation Jacobs est une fondation suisse dont la mission est d’améliorer le développement et la formation des jeunes d’aujourd’hui et des générations futures. Avec l’aide de ses partenaires, la fondation a lancé l’initiative “Transformer l’éducation dans les communautés du cacao” ou TRECC en 2016, en Côte d’Ivoire. Dans ce cadre, la Fondation Jacobs collabore avec des organisations et des partenaires locaux pour améliorer la qualité de l’éducation en Côte d’Ivoire. L’investissement dans l’entreprise Chalkboard Education a été réalisé par le fonds d’impact du TRECC. Pour en savoir plus : http://jacobsfoundation.org/project/trecc-sustainability-through-strengthening-education-in-ivory-coast/
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chalkboardeducation · 7 years ago
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Mobile learning company, Chalkboard Education, secures funding from the Jacobs Foundation
Chalkboard Education, a Ghana-based mobile learning company, has closed EUR 200’000 in expansion financing from Jacobs Foundation.
Founded in 2015, Chalkboard Education partners with universities, training institutions, and companies to provide software that digitalizes their content and distributes it to learners’ mobile devices, allowing students to access course content anytime and anywhere, even without an Internet connection.
Chalkboard Education’s innovative technology allows organizations to expand their education programs through digital distance learning programs that are accessible to any type of phone. "Our mission is to democratize access to education and training in Africa," said Adrien Bouillot, CEO and co-founder of Chalkboard Education.
Chalkboard Education will use the capital from the Jacobs Foundation to further expand its operations in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, including increasing access to its mobile learning tools for rural and remote populations.
McKinsey estimates that Africa needs to train 1 million students per year over the next 10 years to meet its growth targets. However, the current infrastructure does not accommodate so many students.
“Education technology is a very important tool for accompanying the transformation of African educational systems," says Fabio Segura, Director of International Programs for the Jacobs Foundation. “We are excited to add Chalkboard Education to our group of partners dedicated to improving access to and the quality of education in Ivory Coast through the TRECC program.”
About Chalkboard Education
Chalkboard Education is an award winning mobile learning company that has already served over 1’000 students in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. In 2016, it was the winner of Seedstars Ghana and was selected as one of the best African start-ups at the prestigious Seedstars Global Conference. Learn more at: https://chalkboard.education/
About the Jacobs Foundation
The Jacobs Foundation is a Swiss-based foundation seeks to benefit future generations by providing children and young people with better opportunities for development. In 2016, along with its partners, it launched the Transforming Education in Cocoa Communities (TRECC) program in Cote d’Ivoire to work with local stakeholders and partners to improve the quality of education in the country. The investment in Chalkboard Education was made through the TRECC’s venture philanthropy program. Learn more at: http://jacobsfoundation.org/project/trecc-sustainability-through-strengthening-education-in-ivory-coast/
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chalkboardeducation · 7 years ago
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We were nominees at the Ghana Startup Awards
The Ghana Startups Awards is an annual award ceremony that celebrates ambitious start-up businesses that are making impact, contributing to economic growth, meeting social needs and putting Ghana on the global economic map.It was an honor to be among the nominees at the Ghana Startup Awards 2017.
Some really exciting businesses were selected, from food processing startup Dough Man Foods, to church management system Asoriba or fintech company ExpressPay. Each of them reflects the dynamism of the Ghanaian ecosystem in all industries.
Under the patronage of Premium Bank, the ceremony recognized the most promising startups and entrepreneurs building global business from Ghana today.
As highlighted by many guest speakers during the event, there is still much to do by banks and the whole system in Ghana to support SMEs and startups efficiently. Just look at the crazy interest rates (above 25% in average!) Events like this show that banks are finally realizing the potential of Ghanaian startups as clients locally but also on the global market. But for some aspects, they already face a tough competition that offers flexibility, cheaper rates and sometimes even more transparency. Online payment platforms are revolutionizing the way money circulates now. A Ghanaian startup can expand its business to the US, Asia or other African markets, collect payment, transfer money, in just a few clicks...sometimes with just a minimum of interaction with their local bank.
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chalkboardeducation · 7 years ago
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IPA 2017
The Innovation Prize for Africa conference was held the Movenpick Hotel Accra on the 17th and 18th of July 2017. IPA is an initiative spear-headed by the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) whose purpose is to increase the prosperity of Africans by catalyzing the innovation spirit in Africa.
The conference was centered around the 10 finalists and their various innovations the areas of:
Agriculture/agribusiness  
Environment, energy and water
Health and well being
Information, communication and technologies (ICTS)
Manufacturing and service industry
The goal of the IPA is to strengthen African innovation ecosystems through supporting a culture of innovation and competitiveness, whilst spurring growth of innovative, market-driven African solutions to African challenges and several workshops were been held (Zua Hub workshop, Women Innovation Workshop etc.) to help achieve this goal.
The winners and nominees were awarded with the following prizes and incentives:
Grand prize of US$100 000
Second Prize of US$25 000
Special Prize for Social Impact US$25 000
A voucher for each of the seven IPA nominees of US$5 000
The 1st place went to Professor Aly El-Shafei. He innovated a device which is versatile and can change its characteristics as it operates. This device is being designed to be used to support energy generating turbines and can be used to improve efficiency and reduce costs of generating energy in Africa.
The 2nd place went to Philippa Ngaju Makobore. She invented the Electronically Controlled Gravity Feed Infusion Set (ECGF). This device is designed to accurately administer intravenous (IV) fluids and drugs by controlling the rate of fluid flow based on the feedback from a drop sensor.
The 3rd place went to Dr. Dougbeh Christopher Nyan. He developed a rapid test that can detect and simultaneously differentiate at least three to seven infections at the same time within 10 to 40 minutes. This device is also able to detect and distinguish multiple infections which bear the same symptoms.
We found the conference very interesting, exploring and discovering the different innovations that are taking root in Africa and helping solving problems that will have an impact on the continent (and probably beyond).
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chalkboardeducation · 8 years ago
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Outputs from the first Education Collaborative at Ashesi
12 tertiary institutions represented by faculty and administrators from Africa and beyond converged at Ashesi University College for the inaugural Education Collaborative.
This workshop focused on sharing experiences to improve the outcomes, growth and sustainability of higher education institutions in Africa.
The organisers of the workshop agreed that edtech is a very important part of reimagining higher education in Africa. This reiterated the fact that technology has been used as a tool for education from as early as the 1970s. Since then, institutions have been capitalising on the use of technology of the times to improve learning outcomes.
 The technology of this time, mobile devices. The ownership and increase in connections has been rising steadily across Africa from 5% in 2003 to 30% in 2010 and now 128% in 2017. As a result students have been accessing massive open online courses. This presents a great opportunity for existing institutions in Africa.
 Chalkboard Education engaged the audience on using blended learning to improve teaching and learning outcomes and shared the results from 2 clients in Ghana and Cote D’ Ivoire.
Using the Chalkboard Education application has all round benefits. For the institutions: increased ability to reach the masses through distance learning as well as data collection and tracking. For the educators; safe and easy evaluation and the ability to blend learning pedagogies. The students benefit from paperless access to content and flexible study periods.
 With the world undoubtedly getting more digital, we at Chalkboard Education encourage institutions of higher learning to incorporate technology in their teaching and learning pedagogies. It could be something as simple as using technology to track class attendance or full-scale distance learning programs. Go ahead, try it!
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chalkboardeducation · 8 years ago
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Using Tech to enhance the learning experience, the World Reader Summit
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The World Reader summit went beyond e-reading and talked about the impact of digitalisation and specifically the impact of mobile devices in teaching and learning. The summit drew participation from community leaders, educators, tech experts and social impact actors from across West Africa.
The most interesting session to us, "Tech in the classroom" was rich in discussion and experience sharing. Among the panellists were: Omega Schools and the Varkey Foundation who have both developed innovative models of learning and teaching in Ghana. Both organisations are keen on solving the big question that really matters: What are the outcomes that we want for education in Africa?
Technology must enable innovative methods of learning and teaching but it's not an end on its own. We must all come together to create an enabling environment that ensures quality education.
Omega Schools, a network of low cost private schools (students pay 3 cedi a day), have equipped the teaching staff with mobile platform to track the teaching and the student's progress.
Varkey Foundation runs a pilot program for teacher training  in Ghana : ‘Train for Tomorrow’.  This initiative is the first of its kind to be used in sub-Saharan Africa to improve teaching practice.
Both organisations have stressed the use of technology in the classroom to create more equitable classroom environments and a more accountable monitoring system of teaching quality. 
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chalkboardeducation · 8 years ago
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She Started It!
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She Started It is a documentary aimed at sharing the stories of women starting companies. Started in 2013, the She Started it crew have been documenting ambitious women in tech to show people that not only is it possible but it’s being done, and there’s no reason not to try, or be afraid.
In addition to having role models on screen, there were two underlying factors that play a major role in determining the course of any start up. These factors are partially responsible for the vast gap between start-ups founded by men and start-ups founded by women.
The first factor is confidence.  The women in the documentary didn’t exude confidence while pitching to potential investors and went about it in a “get me out of here manner”. Female entrepreneurs feel significantly less confident about their own capabilities than male entrepreneurs, despite similar education and experience levels.
She Started It shows stories of successful entrepreneurs, who overcame self-doubt that often was due to their upbringing or schooling.
The second factor is access to funding. Women in the documentary had a harder time closing rounds of investment. This was attributed to the fact that men in the start-up world are part of exclusive clubs and societies that makes it easier for them to network with investors and venture capitalists.
There is a strong desire to see women help each other, join more networks, invest in each other and above all share their stories!
The glass ceiling is yet to be shattered, but information, inspiration, confidence, action-oriention and networking will put cracks in it. 
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chalkboardeducation · 8 years ago
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What's bigger than $500,000?
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Last month, our team attended the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland, the annual rendez-vous for the best startups from emerging markets. The event was the final leg of a worldwide startups competition that promised half a million dollars cash prize to the winner. Chalkboard Education was part of the finalists out of 8000 applicants in 62 countries, representing Ghana.
16 startups with solutions ranging from ed-tech and computer aided diagnostics systems to women’s reproductive health and fin-tech represented the African continent.
How did African startups perform at the Seedstars Summit?
Truth be told, it could have been a better year for African startups at the Seedstars Summit. In stark contrast to the 2016 edition, where the South African Giraffe won the big prize and during which a special “African Startup Award” was given to Ghana’s Asoriba, no African startup received any major distinction.
Out of the 16 African startups at the Seedstars Global Summit, only 31% got funding to date.
50% of LatAm startups and 61% of Asian startups have raised money before.
Collectively we have raised 23% less than Latam (some big markets were represented twice, such as Mexico and Brazil)
Looking at the bright side
African startups in general raised less money last year: according to Disrupt Africa, funding for Africa startups fell 30.5% in 2016.
On the other hand, in Africa, more startups secured funding than ever before (+17%).
In other words, more startups secured smaller tickets that were more adapted to their needs and their specific contexts. “It is the end of irrational money” according to the Disrupt Africa African Tech Startups Funding Report 2016.
When you look at the African startups at the Seedstars Summit there are reasons to believe that the future looks bright, especially for women entrepreneurs in Africa:
The two African startups that made it to the finals of the global competition were lead by women : Jamii from Tanzania and Kasha from Rwanda. Both have already gained significant traction in their markets: Jamii, the micro-insurance company, covers over 400 hospitals in Tanzania. Last month, Kasha passed the major milestone of 1,000 deliveries of female healthcare products in Rwanda.
And 1 out of 2 of the African companies that have raised money are lead or co-lead by women: Jamii, Kesha and Chalkboard Education. By the way, Jamii just closed a whopping $750,00 seed round for expanding into East and Central Africa.
High calibre investors are looking closely at us: the Nigerian startup Kangpe recently joined Y Combinator. They also operate in Ghana and Kenya and have about 60,000 users.
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Lilian Makoi, CEO of Jamii, pitching on stage at the Seedstars Summit
More than money
Although none of us from Africa won the Seedstars prize, as my-cofounder wrote recently, attending an event like this is invaluable for us.
Through workshops, roundtables and one-to-one mentoring sessions, we got to sit down and exchange with thought leaders, top investors (Leapfrog Investments, Almaz Capital, Omidyar Network), reputable businessmen (Bob Collymore, Alex Galitsky), corporate leaders (from Udacity, Orange, Merck, IBM etc) who shared their time and insights, for free. We also forged connections and friendships with other innovators that could turn into business opportunities someday.  
We are taking this knowledge with us, and as we implement it we will share it with our fellow entrepreneurs back home. This is our contribution to strengthen our ecosystem and give back to our community.
Miora Randriambeloma, Co-founder of Chalkboard Education
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chalkboardeducation · 8 years ago
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Hanging out with doers at Seedstars World Summit
Last week after breakfast, I met a guy doing VR in Nepal. Right after that, I met two people from Myanmar: they sell an information system for schools there. I also befriended with the founder of a corporate learning solution - in Sri Lanka! I’ll stop here, you got it: I attended the Seedstars World Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland.
We were 60+ people from 60 countries handpicked by Seedstars teams across the world, and are working in all industries. Myself and my cofounder Miora Randriambeloma were proudly representing Ghana, with impressive figures on our slides and, of course, a bottle of authentic akpeteshie.
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During an entire week it was all about innovation, growth, progress, social change, and successes. I guess it is what naturally happens when you bring together people from emerging markets: we were only doers amongst the attendees! We could emancipate from pessimistic narratives, and talk about solutions more than problems.
Seedstars leads this positioning: when their CEO Alisée de Tonnac speaks about the world as she sees it, she mentions opportunities, new markets, new ideas, and more importantly, the emergence of new kinds of entrepreneurs.
At the Seedstars Summit, none of the people I met were from my country, and a very few of them spoke my language. Yet I felt like we had much more in common: we shared a vision. We belong to a generation of entrepreneurs to whom profit serves impact, more than the other way around.
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One night, we ended up chatting until 5 in the morning with a bunch of people from Angola, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Mozambique… Our challenges are those of any venture: sales processes, HR, marketing, KPIs definition. More precisely, they are those of any venture led by young entrepreneurs aware of their weaknesses.
The solutions are specific to emerging markets — but not necessarily market-specific: that evening, I was given great, practical, ideas on how to strategise our partnerships, make the most out of our fundraising round, and close sales deals.
The Seedstars Summit has been an unique opportunity for us to take a step back from our daily operations, think longer-term, and grow up together. The relationships, often friendships, we tied with people from all around the globe are unbreakable, and invaluable.
Organisations like Seedstars help us all strengthen our ventures. I look forward to when we will lead our markets and master our businesses: I am confident that, at that moment, the world will be a better place.
Adrien Bouillot Founder & CEO of Chalkboard Education
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chalkboardeducation · 8 years ago
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The Yamoussoukro Center of Excellence is now using Chalkboard Education's platform
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We now operate in Ivory Coast!
We are proud to announce that students from the STeRMI department of the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny (INP HB) are now using Chalkboard Education as part of their master’s degree.
The STeRMI is one of the prestigious African Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE) network. Part of the INP HB, based in Yamoussoukro, it offers curricula in Mining and Environment.
The ACE Project was launched three years ago in partnership with the World Bank and several West and Central African countries. One of the objectives of the ACE project is to meet the demand for skills required for Africa’s development such as extractive industries. Learn more here.
Stay tuned for more exciting news about our activities in Ivory Coast!
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chalkboardeducation · 8 years ago
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Chalkboard Education CEO, awarded the French Citizens Abroad award
France has a large community scattered across the globe with almost 2 million registered expats. Every year, the French Diaspora votes for the seven best entrepreneurs in various categories.
Earlier this month, our CEO Adrien Bouillot was invited to Paris to receive the prize for the Education category, awarded by the French Ministry of External Trade and the CNED (the French distance learning organisation).
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During the ceremony held at the prestigious Quai d’Orsay (the French Foreign Office), Adrien presented our work at Chalkboard Education and our vision for education in Africa.
We are very honoured by this recognition and want to say thank you again to the French community for voting for us!
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chalkboardeducation · 8 years ago
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The next generation of African Women Engineers is here!
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By Jasmine Amo Bempah 
Computer Science Student at Lancaster University Ghana and  Rock star Intern at Chalkboard Education
Is the Tech world only for men?...
From a student’s point of view, it is always tough having to prove yourself in the midst of males. Being in a class of 26 with only 5 are female students has been hectic. People tend to ask you silly questions like  “Hey! why did you choose to study Computer Science?” A question they seldom ask the males. Is it to say that we are not equipped enough or we don’t possess the brains for the tech field?
On a normal day, they expect us women to pick courses like: the sciences, arts, even home economics. It has to be something that relates to womanhood. But women are very capable of storming the tech field. In a setting like Ghana, the discrimination becomes even worse. My reason for pursuing Computer Science is so that I could prove to the world that women can be not just in the tech field but be successful in it. I plan on using these skills to develop software for companies I will set up.
I applied to Chalkboard Education, feeling as though I did not have the skills they needed to perform tasks. To be very candid, taking their offer has been one of the best decisions I have made. It not only helps me grow my confidence in my tech skills, but also as a young, ambitious woman. The likes of Erica Baker (Senior Engineer for SLACK), Zuhairah Washington (General Manager for Uber) and Regina Honu (CEO of Soronko Solutions, a software development company) are my source of inspiration. Regina Honu inspires me the most. Reason being that she is a Ghanaian woman, whose contribution to the tech world has gained recognition even outside the continent. She serves as an Ashoka and YALI Fellow, amongst other roles.
At Chalkboard Education, my work includes web developing and marketing of their business. Who says you can’t make a difference as a woman. They have certainly been impressed with the work I deliver, ever since I joined. The Chalkboard Team is made up of two ambitious and hardworking women and a man and they are doing extremely well.
PS: Don’t let them decide how smart you can be… 😊😎
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chalkboardeducation · 8 years ago
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Our team member was reduced to an “attractive exotic woman” and we’re pissed about it.
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A few days ago, Chalkboard Education won a prestigious prize at a major industry event. The news came as a great surprise. We are grateful that our project gathered the attention of the best tech and media experts.
The team member who represented us to receive the prize played a major role in our pilots in Ghana. She acquired our very first customer and led the implementation process and customer support. She did excellent work over months and had great stories to tell – but the audience preferred to focus on her looks and nice outfit.
A mixed-race woman is seen as too beautiful, or too exotic, or too surprising, or too whatever to be awarded a major prize because of her work (and not because of her appearance). Our team member received a series of sexist remarks that, as a company, we want to expose and condemn.
Our employee had the opportunity to pitch our company, results and next steps on stage. At the end of our pilot, our students got grades 25% higher than usual. Yet all the CEO of a tech company could notice is that “it was an impressive pitch – for a girl”.
Our solution is twice as effective and better priced than other solutions on the market. Yet the only thing a prominent banker could notice was that our team member was “really well-spoken up there – what a treat to finish the day watching THAT (sic)”.
Another tech expert, fortunately, seemed very interested in what we do. He even offered to talk about it in details... “Tomorrow, or if you want, you can come by my room in 217 around, say, 11pm?”. Sure.
These remarks are not compliments, and they are not normal. How long will it take for women, from anywhere, to be taken just as seriously as their male counterparts? If even in places where innovation, disruption and progress are the mottos, and if even young, dynamic people behave this way - how long will it take to reach equality in the tech scene? How long should we wait before we can send our brilliant mixed-race or African employees in Europe (specifically) and be sure that the audience will overcome exoticism, sexism, and actually hear our message?
Chalkboard Education is a French ed-tech company operating in Accra, Ghana. Our team comes from 5 different countries. There are more women than men, and our co-founders are a white man and a black woman. We are proud of this diversity and we work hard to make our work environment an inclusive and safe place. We expect all our partners, providers, and even prospects and clients to respect every one of us.
Diversity is our biggest strength (we speak 9 languages!), along with our ambition, audacity, persistence – and extraordinary product. We make quality education accessible to more people, and yes, we also look good. But that’s not the point.
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chalkboardeducation · 8 years ago
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Chalkboard Education pitched to Mr. Manuel Valls, Prime Minister of France.
We are grateful to the Embassy of France in Ghana for giving us the opportunity to pitch to Mr. Manuel Valls, Prime Minister of France, and his delegation composed of Mr. Jean-Marie Le Guen, Secretary of State, Senators and Journalists.
The delegation was impressed by the unique energy and strength of the Ghanaian startup scene, represented by ourselves along with MEST, InnoHub, Translight Solar, MeQasa and m-Care. They noted the variety of the initiatives and the density of the startup ecosystem here in Accra.
Wearing a well-noticed bowtie made of authentic Ghanaian kente fabric, our founder and CEO Adrien Bouillot presented the results of our pilot at the University of Ghana and exposed our future development in Ghana and in Ivory Coast. 
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chalkboardeducation · 8 years ago
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If this sounds like you or someone you know, please reach out :
Whatsapp : 055 374 7763 or  00 33 6 50 94 75 53 
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