Our pitch:
For years, African governments, Educators and parents have raised concerns about the lack of practical science education at the basic level. In the 21st Century,STEM education presents greater opportunities for personal and socioeconomic development. This is particularly true for Africa. However, for millions of students, scalable, portable and affordable solutions that bring quality practical science education to the masses are woefully lacking, thereby leading to a lack of science experience beyond the blackboard and a resultant lack of understanding of scientific concepts and low interest in science. The science set solves this by bringing one-on-one science lab experiences to students in an effective and safe way.
The science set is an affordable, portable, and effective, practical toolbox (dimension) that provides practical experiential science education for students. It currently contains 46+ components that can help students perform 26+ experiments stipulated in their curriculum. Thus the science set is curriculum specific.
Watch our elevator pitch:
Where our solution team is headquartered or located:
Kumasi, GhanaThe dimensions of the Challenge our solution addresses:
What makes our solution innovative:
Imagine students owning their own lab. Just like the math set, assume a teacher comes to a class and calls students to take their science set, we are going to perform light experiment. Thus, bringing a personalized component. Democratizing and demystifying the study of science and offering teachers the opportunity to effectively teach students at the basic level.
How technology is integral to our solution:
The Science Set is a revolutionary tool that will change the way science is taught in the African classroom setting. The technological sector that drives this innovation is the manufacturing technology with STEM education as the core research area driving this innovation.
We are also developing an app to help monitor the use of the science set most especially by teachers.
Our solution goals over the next 12 months:
In the next 12 months we it is our goal to produce 5000 sets a month and distribute them in schools in Africa and beyond. We also working to expand the number of experiments that the set can perform.
Our vision over the next three to five years to grow and scale our solution to affect the lives of more people:
Within the next five years we hope to reach 2 million people across Africa with the science set and also produce at the capacity of 100,000 sets a month. We also have the vision of developing other components and extending the sets to other parts of the world. We have the vision of building the software component of the science set so it becomes highly interactive such that we can also collect data on it's usage.
Our promotional video:
The key characteristics of the populations who will benefit from our solution in the next 12 months:
The regions where we will be operating in the next 12 months:
How we will reach and retain our customers or beneficiaries:
The end-users for the science set are pupils and teachers through various avenues. We reach parents and teachers directly through parent-teacher associations, stationary distributors, and retails stores online and across the country and so far have sold 4000+ sets.
We target education-focused NGOs and foundations of corporate organisations through proposals that clearly outline the needs for practical science education. Currently we are partnering MTN-Ghana to provide 2000 sets across Ghana.
We are negotiating with Ghana’s education ministry to make the sets a must-have for every student. Moreover, some districts and government agencies are promoting the science set.
How many people we are currently serving with our solution:
The science set is already on the market in over 200 classrooms across Ghana with a few scattered in Togo, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, US, UK, Germany, Nigeria among other countries.
Currently we have over 4500+ sets sold and we partnering MTN Ghana Foundation to provide 2000 sets to school.
How many people we will be serving with our solution in the 12 months and the next 3 years:
With a customer base of 144 million basic students across sub Saharan African region, we hope to develop the capacity to reach and serve 100,000 students and teachers in12 months with the science set. We then expect in 3 years to serve about 1 million students and teachers across Africa and the rest of the world.
How our solution team is organized:
For-ProfitHow many people work on our solution team:
8How many years we have been working on our solution:
1-2 yearsThe skills our solution team has that will enable us to attract the different resources needed to succeed and make an impact:
Our team is made up product designers , engineers who form the core team of which I am part. we have a marketer and an accountant. We also have a supply chain person who works with us making sure we streamline our supply chain as we grow. We also have an advisor on the production of our product. The director of science, innovation and technology at the Ministry of Education in Ghana is part of our board of directors and finally we have a lawyer who sees to advise us on legal issues.
Our revenue model:
The science set is sold directly to students, their parents, teachers and organisations. We will reach parents directly through the schools, parent teacher associations, stationary distributors and stalls (mini kiosks) in supermarkets and online such as jumia and invent electronics.
We sell to organisations who are into STEM education and promote it. For instance MTN the largest mobile network in Ghana is using our product as its cooperate social responsibility for schools in Ghana.
We currently are partnering with leading science book publishers and distributors with strong reach in Africa. We reach government and other non-governmental organization via proposals.
Why we are applying to Solve:
Providing partnerships and help build the capacity and international reach of the Dext organisation
Providing finance to help augment our resources in other to build a strong cash flow for the organization
To be also part of a vibrant community of world changers.
The key barriers for our solution:
Because we are a startup we tend to get into the Cash flow trap
Lack of machinery such as laser cutters among others
Because of high demand we are unable to meet our demands thus lead time challenge
The types of connections and partnerships we would be most interested in if we became Solvers:
Solution Team
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Mr. Charles Ofori Antipem Co-founder and CEO, Dext Technology Limited
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Our tagline:
Bringing affordable, practical, portable STEM education to all with science lab that fits in the bag of students