Robotics, AI Literacy and Career Paths in the Digital Economy

For more than eight years, Izani has worked with young people through school-based like the Recylebot Builders programme and cross-cultural coding and robotics programmes such as the One Team, Two Continents Robotics Programme.

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We saw what happened when young people were given the space and tools to create.

We saw excitement. Curiosity. Creativity. We develop solutions to real world challenges using robotics and inspired many to pursue STEM pathways.

But we also began asking ourselves how we could make this opportunity available to every young African.

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But we knew our existing model to Wau in South Sudan or Nkongsamba in Cameroon would require more equipment, more infrastructure, more trained STEM teachers and translation of our curriculum into various languages.

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We also knew we needed another way.

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So we decided to use the power of technology to scale what we had learned.

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This is how Techafon Lab emerged

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Techafon Lab is an offline-first web app with a customised low-cost STEM kit designed to help schools, educators and parents give young people practical, project-based learning in robotics, coding and AI literacy without depending on internet access or specialist STEM teachers. It also enables young people to learn and apply income-generating skills such as mobile phone repairs, while at school.

And because we don't believe learning should depend on having expensive equipment, young people can choose how they build.

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They can use recycled and everyday materials found around them, use the Techafon STEM kit, or combine both.

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The idea is to start with what you have, but we are still starting with the person.

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Technology allows us to take the learning further, but technology itself is not the purpose.

Through Techafon projects, we want young people to discover themselves by building solutions to real world challenges.