Borderless Opportunities through Web Development: Benin

In West Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea lies the Republic of Benin.

As a developing nation with few domestic corporations, openings for ambitious local graduates are limited.

But one domestic organization is working to expand opportunities for local talent.

This IT school launched boot camps in 2021.

The aim is to equip young people with the coding skills to help them find promising employment.

If he has IT skills, he can whether work for a company or he can use that skill to, maybe, create his own business.

The school grew out of a partnership with a Japanese business...

The developer of a unique online IT learning platform.

It's a groundbreaking approach that equips users with practical web developing skills in a matter of months.

We help people fulfill their potential
regardless of nationality.

I think that's a valuable contribution.

This time on Sharing the Future, we follow a unique enterprise helping young people fulfil their promise by creating borderless opportunities through web development.

A country of around 12 million people, since making the transition from single-party rule to a pluralistic political system in the early 1990s,

the Republic of Benin has undergone an economic transformation.

In 2006, the country unveiled a radical 10-year plan for the education sector that guaranteed free primary schooling for all.

And the following decade saw a doubling in the proportion of young people who make it to university.

But a growing graduate population has created a bottleneck in terms of employment opportunities.

With an economy focused on agriculture and shipping, there are few domestically owned corporations.

You have to make a living,
so I'm doing what I can.

My dream is a job that
makes the most of my abilities.

But with domestic companies,
it all depends on who you know.

I have four adult children.

But none of them have been able
to find steady, secure employment.

They all have degrees,
but they can't find work.

But one domestic IT venture is working to address this situation.

It was founded by a local entrepreneur.

And the aim is to help young people find job opportunities.

They develop apps and conduct market research for mainly Japanese firms.

And in 2021, they launched a pioneering school to boost graduates' employment prospects through IT boot camps.

Let me show you my SAMURAI book here.

The founder is David Kpondehou.

He's currently based in Japan where he's working to expand links with Japanese companies.

So many young people when they finish university, they are looking for jobs and they don't have job opportunities.

And we think with IT knowledges, IT skills, people will have chance to meet their requirement of the job match.

With the aim of joining the global business community, Kpondehou studied English at one of the most prominent universities in Benin.

After making friends through a Japanese-run international volunteer program, he took an interest in Japanese business and technology.

And that provided the spark to set up a business focused on working with Japanese firms.

In 2018, he founded Africa Samurai Consulting.

The name was inspired by the indomitable spirit of Japanese warriors, who he hoped could be an inspiration for young Beninese in their quest for work.

The business started out as a subcontractor, hiring local programmers to work on web development projects for Japanese firms.

But we realized that the expectations of the clients which is the international standard requirement.

We couldn't be able to meet those kind of requirements... those young people.

That's how we shifted to education.

Kpondehou searched Japan for an appropriate partner for educational initiatives.

And eventually, he discovered a Tokyo based company that offers IT education called DIVE INTO CODE.

It was founded in 2015 by Noro Hiroyoshi.

Using a self-developed online training platform to equip users with practical knowhow, his courses have been a hit with aspiring web developers.

Noro's belief in coding as an international language has seen him provide his platform to five other African nations including Rwanda and Senegal.

And it was this track record that inspired Kpondehou to approach him about bringing the platform to Benin.

He came to see me with an in-depth
proposal he'd drawn up himself.

I was amazed. I'd never seen anyone
go to those kinds of lengths before.

I thought it would be great fun to
work together. A valuable challenge.

In 2020, the pair's companies sealed a business partnership, which saw Kpondehou leverage Noro's platform for his own IT bootcamps back home in Benin.

Noro's self-developed system, known as DIVER uses structured learning steps to quickly equip aspiring web developers with essential skills

that give them an edge in the employment market.

Each step has its own tasks and problems which must be successfully cleared in order to graduate from the course.

This step, for example, teaches the fundamentals of HTML and CSS, two key programming languages that are essential to display text and images online.

Students begin by reading a text-based overview.

Here, the content explains coding steps to display text and images in the desired positions on a web page.

And once these instructions have been digested, students can try their hand at the accompanying practical tasks, such as replicating the layout of a sample cafe website.

I think the training of Noro san, DIVE INTO CODE training is practical.

We finish in short time. People can learn some skills like other people will be maybe using three years to learn.

It is really practical.

Actual project that companies can outsource or give to as a task.

So I think all this is practical, and that's what is actually missing from our perspectives in the skills that the young people have in our countries.

There's also an online form for students to seek clarification on any points they are unsure of.

Staff members provide timely support that helps to maintain learners' motivation.

Noro developed the content and structure of the course based on extensive consultations with IT businesses.

The final task is for students to create their own original apps and websites, like these examples by last year's graduates,

who planned and coded everything from layout to functionality themselves.

A key development challenge was to
make sure it was all reproducible.

So the course can guide any user
through to creating their own website.

The various tasks force them to think.

It's like routine batting practice to
prepare you for a real match setting.

Kpondehou's school in Benin charges the equivalent of around a thousand US dollars for a four-month course using this approach.

Though not cheap by local standards, it's calculated based on the bare minimum personnel and running costs.

Kpondehou's school currently has 10 students, with most studying parallel to their day jobs in order to boost their skills.

Each of them use the proprietary IT learning platform to study from their own homes.

31-year-old Gado Abdel Wahide Imorou lives with his mother and two children.

Imorou is the family's sole breadwinner.

He runs a computer and mobile phone repair service from home.

And having heard from a friend about Kpondehou's school, he saved up the money to enroll.

A web development novice, he spends eight hours a day studying outside of working hours.

To remember the basics of programing language he types out lines of code.

It can be tough going.
One task took me a whole week!

It was an important problem,
so I wanted to solve it myself.

But I was starting to get discouraged.

That's where the school's mentor system comes in, with prompt responses to any questions he might have.

There are also twice-weekly online sessions where students join their classmates to go over what they've been learning.

Today's session looks back at the CRUD approach, a mnemonic to remember four basic functions required in web development:

Create, Read, Update, and Delete.

So can you remember what
CRUD stands for?

No. Can somebody remind me?

(Classmate)
It stands for: "Create," "Reset,"
"Update," "Delete."

(Mentor)
Very good. But "R" stands for "Read."

Ah, "Read."

It's online, but it feels like a real school.
You learn as a group.

And when you don't understand,
there's guidance to help you carry on.

The mentor for this group is Africa Samurai Consulting co-founder and COO Baroka Irotori.

When the firm was planning to launch its school, Irotori himself used the IT learning platform to gain the skills required to be a mentor.

It's not easy to maintain our students'
motivation to study by themselves.

Some of them decide to quit.

We support them with encouragement
to see things through to the end.

Irotori is from the town of Natitingou, some 500km from Benin's largest city Cotonou.

Since his first encounter with a computer at the age of nine, he'd always wanted to start an IT business.

But at the time, Benin's IT sector was undeveloped.

Faced with disapproval from his lawyer father, Irotori taught himself the skills to become a web developer.

I wanted to be entrepreneur, and I wanted to be computer scientist.

I really love mathematics. I really love to think logical.

And work with a lot of passion.

To solve problem.

And I think that IT field will give me this opportunity.

A key companion on that journey was David Kpondehou.

The pair met at university, and bonded over their shared ambition to become entrepreneurs.

They went on to found Africa Samurai Consulting together.

We all have power, no matter how small,
to promote positive change.

Some of our students have gone on to
find good jobs, transforming their lives.

And to maximize graduates' chances of finding the right position, the company also runs a jobhunting support service.

Irotori leverages Kpondehou's international connections to help graduates find openings that match their skills.

We meet one student who's benefitted from this approach.

Chaldrak Bublice Dokpa found work with a Dutch firm that makes game development software.

Working remotely from home in Benin, he's building the firm's new website.

In just three or four months, the course
helped me gain all this new knowledge.

And that knowledge is letting me
make my dreams a reality.

It's a fantastic feeling.

The system's creator Noro Hiroyoshi is also on board with the school's recruitment support service.

In January 2022, he hired one graduate for his own company in Japan.

Alfa Gyll-Christ Rodolpho Abel Doko.

Doko joined the platform's renovation team, where he's working remotely on updates to learning resources.

I'm creating new code examples.

Those will assist the learning of
all these people I've never met.

That's a great feeling.

Today, Noro's firm has taken on 13 graduates from four African nations including Rwanda and Senegal.

Some of them are tasked with providing online responses to students' queries via the IT learning platform.

They even use AI translation tools to provide answers to questions from Japanese students.

And they also provide supplementary links and tips to further deepen students' understanding of the subject matter.

“I’ve compiled this information
for you at the link below.” We provide an IT learning platform.

But it's also important to follow that up
with employment opportunities.

We want our students to become
role models back home in Africa.

And Japan has a shortage of
IT instructors so it's a plus for us, too.

It's a win-win for everyone.

Noro sees IT as a universal skill that can give anyone the chance to make an active social contribution.

Our aim is to equip young Africans
with IT skills that bring lasting benefits.

And help them break out
of their current situation.

It proves that anybody can progress to
the next level if they just give it a try.

Back in Benin, at the door to the school's premises, we find 19-year-old student Lorne Carlos Avomakpe.

His decision to sign up for an IT bootcamp was inspired by his dream to boost education in Benin by creating a fun math-learning app.

But that dream has run into a significant hurdle.

My dad is saying he can't
help me with my course fees.

And it's not because he disapproves,
but for money reasons, right?

Avomakpe has been working part-time to fund his studies.

But he can't afford this month's fees, and his parents are also unable to help out.

He's actually one of four students who have so far been unable to pay this month.

Irotori consults Noro and Kpondehou about this important issue.

And people that want job don't have money to pay.

Because they don't have proper income.

So, I think this problem is very important.

So we have to think about sponsor, that is going to support students to pay fee each month for four months.

This is actually the first school in Africa to charge a fee for boot camps using Noro's platform.

There are lots of hurdles to face when
trying to run a business like this in Africa.

The norm is assisted programs.

So, for a Japanese firm to charge fees
can seem like taking advantage.

That's a perception we sometimes face.

Noro has been providing his IT learning platform to students in Africa since 2017.

At that time, crowdfunding and donations from Japanese businesses enabled them to operate courses free of charge, with Noro himself also visiting to provide in-person guidance.

But that model simply wasn't sustainable for the long-term operation of schools.

It had to be sustainable, and that takes
money, to hire staff and so on.

Thats how you keep a business running.

Our goal was a sustainable cycle.

That was the aim behind the fee-based model introduced through the partnership with Kpondehou's firm.

Having so far seen 21 students through to graduation, the school is currently on its third intake.

This partnership is a major milestone.

And we owe that success to the passion
of David Kpondehou and Baroka Irotori.

To their commitment and their ability
to convey our mission in Benin.

Let's discuss about our future.

The partners are currently working on a new initiative to support Beninese students unable to afford their course fees.

And I'm thinking one thing.

So we're making a team of senior developer in the middle, and the senior developer who can speak both Japanese and English, and then we have Japanese company in Japan who will be outsourcing the business or the project

to Benin students, where we have the team.

They outsource to the students and then after they outsource it, they get the result back.

They review the code, and then they send back to the company.

Kpondehou proposes a model in which students are provided with paid work to fund their own studies.

The system will depend on a team of bilingual IT engineers to liaise with clients and provide technical support to students.

How about we think about such kind of model? What do you think about it?

It's a very important model.

So its an ideal plan.

I want to create that model.

Only education is not just sustainable. I noticed.

You are right.

Firstly, the very important thing is to make it real, sure to make it.

All of the Japanese company, "I never heard about an African offshore company!"

Very afraid of maybe the quality. Maybe.

To over the expectation is very important.

We want to build this future for the next generation for both Japan and Africa together.

Let's do our best.

We will make true our dreams.

Thank you. Thank you.

Dive in work!

Dive in work!

Here is already night. Baroka-san, we finished working. We want to sleep.

Phew. They're such good guys.

The team resolves to try and establish the new system within the next 12 months.

Our value and philosophy is that "Don't look for jobs, create it."

Because we believe that if people are able to create jobs, there will be created more jobs.

We want to help our students decide
how they want to contribute to the world.

And, a year into their joint initiative, David Kpondehou and Noro Hiroyoshi are continuing on their shared mission to create borderless opportunities through web development.