Welcome to our March newsletter! As we transition to the hot Sahelian season (with temperatures higher than 40° Celsius), we are excited to share the latest updates.

🎶 Our song of the month is Magic from Coldplay. This mission sometimes got us broken. Like odds of success are disappearing from view. But after all that we’ve been through, we still believe in the magic of contributing to getting people living more dignified lives. Yes, we do! Of course, we do.

What are we building?

Kabakoo is a community-driven upskilling platform designed to allow young people in West Africa to develop the mindset and the skills needed to improve their lives in a context of scarce formal jobs.

☀️ February 2025 Highlights

We partnered with the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Policy for their “Sustainable Development in the Digital Age” course. The collaboration featured a guest talk by Michèle and Yanick focusing on digital innovation and indigenous knowledge in the Sahel region, along with rich conversations between students in Chicago and the Kabakoo community. The highlight was a policy lab where Harris master’s students engaged directly with Kabakoo learners to tackle specific community challenges. These included improving AI-powered learning outcomes for the Bamanankan language and scaling indigenous value creation in Mali’s textile sector. This demonstrates how young people from Bamako can learn alongside peers from top schools worldwide, with both groups benefiting from the exchange.

This initiative builds upon our successful collaborations with institutions like Maryland Institute College of Art and the University of Paderborn, which have led to lasting enrichment on each side. It is the Highdigenous approach in action.

Why do people download the Kabakoo app?

To truly understand what brings people to Kabakoo, we analyzed 1,830 responses from our onboarding process. Depending on where you stand, some results might be surprising, some not.

Our community values flexible and hybrid learning. A significant 64% of respondents appreciate the mix of mobile learning and in-person interactions, confirming that blended learning is not just a preference—it’s a necessity for many. This reinforces Kabakoo’s approach, where learning happens both online and through meaningful real-world exchanges. Hence, it’s not only science which tells us that blended/hybrid learning (offline and online) works best. The learners also seem to be d’accord.

When it comes to course selection, interests are well distributed. 32% are drawn to the core mindset-oriented and agency-enhancing modules (Learning to Learn & Visualization), while 25% focus on entrepreneurship.

49% of new learners come to Kabakoo without a specific project idea but are looking for inspiration. This highlights an exciting opportunity: learners aren’t just looking to learn—they want guidance in shaping their ambitions. It highlights the need for interpersonal conversations, mentoring, and project-structuring support as part of their Kabakoo journey.

The community aspect is also a key driver, with about 60% valuing different forms of collaboration, including 19% specifically interested in teamwork on projects. This validates the importance of peer-to-peer learning and collective problem-solving as essential components of the Kabakoo experience.

Finally, 63.4% of new users are ready to start a free session immediately, a clear signal of strong engagement from the moment they join. This enthusiasm is an asset, reflecting a motivated user base eager to explore, learn, and contribute. We need to leverage this by reducing our time to value, that we currently expect to be around three weeks for a dedicated learner at the upper range of completion.

What does this tell us? Up to now, we have had a decent bunch of pretty good intuitions (probably thanks to the lived experience of the team + our evidence-guided approach). We are probably on the right track. And we have a hell lot to do.

Our learners show continuous commitment to learning and professional success

We’re excited to share some insights from our post-training survey for our 2023 cohort, highlighting their commitment to professional growth. When asked, “Have you purchased or invested in something to improve your professional life in the near future?” nearly 72% responded yes. This impressive figure reflects the drive to embrace continuous learning, a trend consistently observed across previous cohorts.

Our 2022 impact data reveals some intriguing differences between groups. Participants in the treatment group (TG) demonstrated a stronger commitment to growth-oriented investments compared to the control group (CG).

At T2 (12 months post-training), TG participants were significantly more likely to invest in skill development and digital access:

• Training investment: 54% vs. 44%
• Internet connectivity: 28% vs. 15%

By T3 (18 months post-training), these positive trends became even more pronounced:

• Training investment remained high: 51% vs. 32%
• Digital access continued to be a priority for the treatment group: 24% vs. 11%

Meanwhile, a larger portion of CG respondents reported making no professional investments at all (14% vs. 2% in TG).

These numbers show that when provided with the right resources and guidance, our learners go beyond simply completing programs; they actively take steps to invest in their future.

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Stepping on the global stage at Istanbul Innovation Days & Skoll World Forum

As we wrap up this month’s updates, we are excited to announce that our team will be speaking at various events in the next weeks. Yanick is currently in Istanbul for the Istanbul Innovation Days (IID2025), UNDP's flagship event. He is joining the main stage conversation about “Technology, Power, and Participation: Rethinking Governance Beyond the State” sharing how Kabakoo is reimagining learning institutions across West Africa. He will also speak on another session focused on Inclusive AI. This event is an opportunity for Kabakoo to showcase our unique “Highdigenous” approach—an inspiring blend of indigenous knowledge and cutting-edge technology that fosters innovative learning ecosystems and creates opportunities for youth. Catch Yanick's pre-event interview here. As for now, Yanick is still in Istanbul, so let’s meet for a tea on the shores of the Bosphorus!

Additionally, we will be attending Skoll World Forum on April 1–4, 2025. Especially, Michèle will be attending as an Elevate Prize Winner Delegate. We know Skoll’s schedules are usually crazy. Still, if you are attending Skoll this year and want to know more about our work, the Highdigenous, or just want to have a chat, happy to meet.

Kabakoo Faces

(With over 34 821 registered learners, each month we spotlight a member of our vibrant community.

Meet Moriba K., whose journey with Kabakoo exemplifies our community’s impact. What began as a journey to enhance his digital skills led to co-founding “Futuriste AI” with a fellow community member - their venture creating technology solutions for businesses in Mali.

For Moriba, Kabakoo was more than just a learning platform; it was a catalyst for entrepreneurial collaboration and innovation, turning digital skills into real-world business opportunities. Hear his story here, where he shares how Kabakoo’s agency-enhancing core modules paved his path to success.

Thank you for reading to the end! 💜🧡

Michèle & Yanick

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