14 Mar 2019

A new mobile telephone service application, ATLEGA Mobile Education Service, which launched in Gaborone on Wednesday, has been lauded as having the potential to revolutionise the learning environment in Botswana.

Speaking at the launch, Orange Botswana director (Corporate Affairs), Ms Lepata Mafa-Nthomola said the initiative by Orange aims to tap into the high mobile penetration in the country to develop online learning.

“We have a high mobile penetration rate of more than 160 per cent.  We need to ask ourselves how we are taking advantage of our digital literacy to penetrate the e-learning market.  As Orange, we felt that the onus is on us to step up as a responsible corporate citizen, and support the effort of government in the e-learning space,” Ms Mafa-Nthomola said.

She explained that ATLEGA is a mobile education platform accessible through any type of mobile telephone handset, be it smart phones or cheaper ‘sedilame’ cellular devices.

“ATLEGA uses a USSD code to access educational content, and the content in the platform was designed in alignment to the Botswana national school curriculum. It caters for the educational needs of pupils from Standard One to Form Five, and we have sought to make it as inclusive and focused as possible,” Ms Mafa-Nthomolang noted.

In developing the device, Orange partnered with Conexus, a youth owned business which won the Orange Social Venture Prize in 2016, and have previously developed the educational digital content for the Orange Foundation Digital Schools programme, which also involved the ministries of basic education as well as local government and rural development.

Ms Mafa-Nthomolang extolled the virtues of such partnerships, and reiterated the company’s commitment to empowering up and coming local businesses.

“This partnership is testament to Orange Botswana’s commitment to empowering local start-ups and working together to find solutions that drive socio-economic development in the country. 

We have come to realise that most start-ups have excellent innovative ideas, but need technical and financial support to develop their ideas into viable businesses,” Ms Mafa Nthomolang said.

When demonstrating how the application works, Conexus managing director, Ms Melissa Tafila explained that it included an information for revision and tests of different school subjects such as mathematics and science at different levels of primary and secondary schooling.

Ms Tafila said it would cost a minimum of P2 to use the app, which would connect on mobile phones using Orange. ENDS