Highlighting the role of digital learning in the German-Cameroonian cooperation and beyond

During this year’s Salon PROMOTE 2024 – Central Africa’s biggest business fair – more than 1000 exhibitors from 30 countries are coming together in Yaoundé to discuss the theme ‘Integration and economic development’.

atingi, BMZ’s and GIZ’s digital learning platform, is participating throughout the week-long event as part of the EU pavilion alongside other projects from GIZ Cameroon. atingi is attending together with their partner project Women Going Digital from the Business Scouts for Development to promote their digital learning in general and their activities in the region.

As part of GIZ’s participation during the conference, workshop sessions on the topic of German-Cameroonian cooperation and its importance as a catalyst for sustainable economic and ICT development were organized. One session was held by atingi, to introduce the platform and its offering for partners and learners alike.

During the workshop session, participants explored the relevance of digital learning for capacity development and its role in providing access to education. atingi offers more than 450 courses on its platform, which are accessible free of charge in a variety of languages. The offering covers a broad spectrum of topics, such as digital skills, agriculture, entrepreneurship, and tourism. The majority of courses are self-paced and can be readily coupled with blended learning approaches. This was highlighted during the session on the example of the course Women Going Digital and a pilot project implemented in Cameroon. Unique about this pilot is the cooperation between Orange Cameroon, the regional GIZ project Business Scouts for Development, and atingi. As part of the pilot, a train the trainer approach is used and through a blended learning approach learners are transformed into trainers. Two young women, for example, are now trainers themselves and use their newly gained skills to educate others about the opportunities in the digital sector in Cameroon.

The atingi session was a great success and engaged participants to discuss digital learning. The workshop ended in a lively discussion about the options of certification and how to keep young people engaged in self-paced learning, a very important topic as the offer of self-paced courses alone doesn’t ensure skills development.

Another highlight of the conference took place on Wednesday, February 21, when the EU delegation and the German Ambassador visited the EU/GIZ pavilion as part of the EU business week, which is taking place simultaneously to the conference.

About the conference: PROMOTE is a biennial multi-sectoral exhibition organized in Cameroon, at the confluence of Central Africa and West Africa, on a non-commercial basis and in the general interest of the economy, on behalf of the highest Cameroonian authorities by INTERPROGRESS International Foundation. The conference takes place from February 17-25, 2024 in the Congress Hall in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Learn more here.

Find more information about atingi and how to use our platform to partner with us here.