Gateway Academy digital learning
Rethinking digital learning in Sub-Saharan Africa
CGAP & Mastercard Foundation
Client
CGAP & Mastercard Foundation
Year
2017
Services
Mobile applications, Management information systems, Strategic planning, Branding, Naming, Product design
Themes
Labor standards, Governance, Gender

Background & objectives
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the Mastercard Foundation (MCF) partnered together to concept a new way to improve the service financial institutions provide to the poor in key markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. The hypothesis was that by improving the training and quality of service of employees at financial instutitions, key populations would greatly benefit from products designed specifically for them.
This was a unique approach that looked at the upstream operations of financial instutitons as a way to promote financial inclusion in the region.
Improve capacity
of employees at financial instutitons to serve and build products for the poorReduce the cost
of training staff at financial instutions as a way to reduce turnover and poachingBuild on local experience
to deliver a solution that takes into account local and cultural experiences


How could we build the capacity of banks in emerging markets to meet the needs of the poor?
What was our goal?

Research and strategy
In the early phases of the program, we identified that understanding how people learn would be just as critical, if not more so, than getting the technology right.
Our target audience, Banks in Sub-Saharan Africa, have traditionally done learning in person and for a select few individuals, but with the growing youth boom in Africa, bringing digital learning is the most scalable and effective way to build the capacity of their employees. Similarly, very few courses were available for digital learning that reflected African learning experiences, so we partnered with local Training Service Providers to build their capacity and understanding of digital business models.
We developed key insights which guided our strategy and approach.
What were the outcomes?
Gateway Academy grew in three years from a nascent idea all the way to a commercially viable product serving many financial institutions in the region.
In June 2020, Gateway Academy was successfully merged with Digital Frontiers, a Bill & Melinda Gates funded learning organization based in South Africa to continue its journey and mission.

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