KURIMA Digital - Digital Inclusion Scale-up

Innovation methods

Data sources

SDG(s)

Sustainable Development Goal(s)

4Quality education

5Gender equality

8Decent work and economic growth

Disclaimer:

Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.

Title

Please provide a name for your action learning plan.

KURIMA Digital - Digital Inclusion Scale-up

Challenge statement

Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge. Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.

BIG BET

Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)

Our challenge is that connectivity and digital inclusion is very low in rural areas and the youth has limited access to future skills to support their businesses in agriculture value chains.

Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?

In the end of 2023 the Accelerator Lab piloted and experimented a Digital Inclusion and future skills program as a component of the Future of Work Portfolio. The pilot provided a 2 month training in digital inclusion and future skills to 20 young people in Cacuaco in the Province of Luanda. In 2024 the Accelerator Lab is scaling-up the program to the Provinces of Huíla and Benguela reaching 200 young people.

Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.

The agricultural census 2019-2020 revealed that over 83% of the rural villages analyzed face of villages do not have any source of electricity, around 11% use private generators and only 3% of villages have a public grid as their source of electricity, 2% of villages have community generators as their source of electricity and 1% have solar panels as their source of electricity. Moreover, nearly 2% of villages have mechanized agricultural equipment, only 3% of them have any storage or processing unit for agricultural products and less than 0.5% of villages have any banking institution. Limited connectivity is a significant constraint that curbs the potential for well- connected and dynamic rural economies that are attractive to investments. Rural communities and cooperatives are still lacking opportunities for business, digital and financial skills development that can enable cooperatives and smallholder farmers to go beyond agricultural production.

Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.

UNDP is developing projects in 5 Provinces working with agriculture cooperatives. The youth in these cooperatives have limited access to electricity, connectivity and the majority of them have never used a computer or a cellphone. Eventually leaves the rural areas when opportunities are not available and are not attracted to the agriculture businesses of their families.

Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?

The Accelerator Lab has tested a pilot with 20 people and is now in growth stage.

Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?

KURIMA Digital is supporting a new generation of rural young entrepreneurs. AccLab Angola is now taking its digital inclusion and future skills program to Huíla and Benguela as part of the Future of Work Portfolio.

Challenge classification

Partners

Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.

Please state the name of the partner:

People In Need

What sector does our partner belong to?

Civil Society

Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.

Implementing partner

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.

Please state the name of the partner:

ADRA Huíla

What sector does our partner belong to?

Civil Society

Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.

Local Partner in Huíla and Cooperative supporters

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.

Please state the name of the partner:

SEIVA

What sector does our partner belong to?

Civil Society

Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.

Local Partner in Benguela and Cooperative supporters

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Yes

Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.

Please state the name of the partner:

Municipal and Local Governments

What sector does our partner belong to?

Government (&related)

Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.

Municipal and Commune Governments in Humpata and Dombe Grande

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Yes

Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.

Please state the name of the partner:

AGRANOSSA and STRATLAB

What sector does our partner belong to?

Private Sector

Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.

Training partners

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Yes

Learning questions

Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?

We want to learn about the challenges and constraints for digital inclusion in this Provinces which are very important provinces in the context of the Diversification of the Economy with strong agriculture development and understand to what extent can the training program allow for businesses to grow or new businesses to be created.

To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?

Grow

Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?

Based on the previous tested curricula during the pilot a new updated curricula was co-created with partners following a community mapping in each location.

Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?

We did a pre KAP survey to understand existing knowledge, attitudes and practices of the trainees and collect socio-economic data. We also did community assessments and engagement. During the training a mentoring and coaching model was used to support business model design with groups of trainees.

Closing

Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?

This is already a growth initiative, scaling from a previous tested pilot, however we already see potential to scale to other Provinces. At this stage we will potentially look for additional partners on the financial sector to allow for a post-training module that could include access to finance or access to credit to support businesses developed after training. However local partners ADRA, SEIVA and PIN will potentially have the capacity to continue the trainings in these 2 Provinces and reach more people if additional funding is mobilized. Training rooms in these locations are now fully equipped and connected to continue training. Additionally AccLab and CO are also equipping similar training rooms in 2 other Provinces of Lunda-Norte and Uíge that could also be potential new locations for the program to be implemented.

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Innovation methods

Data sources

SDG(s)

Sustainable Development Goal(s)

4Quality education

5Gender equality

8Decent work and economic growth

Comments

Action plan