Technology is rapidly transforming the socio-economic landscape of the African continent, a change driven by agile processes, creative constraints and start-up mentality. These new technologies can play a key role in boosting and positively disrupting development work, but this requires that traditional development cooperation actors understand how tech entrepreneurship is shaping the African context - and how best to support this development.
The Techvelopment Leadership Programme is a proven, science-based and expert-led leadership program for development co-operation professionals. During six immersive days, participants will be equipped with the key skills necessary to understand and lead the tech driven development cooperation agenda. Specifically, participants will:
The program is lead and designed by experts who all have years of experience working with technology in a development co-operation context, as well as designing and leading leadership development programs. |
Techvelopment program.
6 days program in 2 modules. Sweden& Kenya. € 3,950 / DKK 29,500 Keywords
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Program OverviewThe programme consists of six days’ intensive training and workshops divided into two modules. One module in Denmark, and one module in Kenya. These modules are inherently project based and hands-on: participants first receive rigorous creativity, agile and tech training in Module I, enabling them to act as external consultants to local tech startups in Kenya in Module II, in a process known as “learn through teaching” - a unique Escalino approach that ensures that theoretical knowledge gained in module I is operationalized, so it can be put to effective use after the programme. In the process, participants learn about the elements and drivers of successful socio-economic tech-innovations, and get hands-on experience testing out these approaches and tools in practice. LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND METHODOLOGY Methodology and Learning Environment: The programme combines lectures, workshops, practical hands-on exercises, individual and group work, field work and online learning. Heavy emphasis is put on creating a “safe” collaborative learning environment conducive to open discussion, conversation and learning from mistakes. Both during and in between modules, participants and instructors will make heavy use of online collaborative platforms to better communicate and continue working together in order to progress and achieve results. This is of particular importance between the modules, where the working groups are expected to reflect on the learning process and seek and share new insights, as well as completing their assigned “homework”. Furthermore, this is meant as a place to share experiences and create partnerships for techvelopment projects beyond the span of the programme. During the training, all documents and materials will be made available in one place online for easy access by all participants. |
Why Kenya?To boost your agile creativity skills and add give you indepth knowledge of the techvelopment scene, the second module of the program takes place in Nairobi, Kenya. Here you will “learn through teaching” by facilitating the creative design thinking tools from module 1 with local tech startups. In addition, Kenya has been named the “cradle” of Africa’s technological revolution - colloquially known as Silicon Savannah - and is a hotbed of frugal innovation (i.e. high-tech low-cost solutions). This, in combination with minimal change in time zone, the absence of language barriers (Kenyans speak English), and affordable flight connections makes Kenya a logical choice. Finally, as Nairobi’s tech startup scene is booming, you will work with and be inspired by fascinating local tech startups in one of the epicenters of techvelopment.
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Program Details
Pre-Program Interviews
Each participant has a brief conversation with a program managers to better understand expectations and needs. This enables us to fine-tune the final-program to best meet individual participants where they are.
Module 1
Participants get an introduction to the area of techvelopment and learn why the advancement of new technologies has the potential to radically disrupt many areas of development work. Participants are introduced to the science of creative design thinking and are trained in concrete ideation methods, which they will use with tech-startups in Kenya. Participants are introduced to agile methodologies and some of the latest technological trends that will come to impact development work processes.
Applied learning: between module 1 and 2, participants will apply pieces of the methods they have learned so far in their everyday context.
Applied learning: between module 1 and 2, participants will apply pieces of the methods they have learned so far in their everyday context.
Module 2
Participants visit key actors in the Kenyan techvelopment eco-system, where they learn about frugal innovations and successful techvelopment solutions already in existence. Participants work closely with selected social tech startups, and use the creative design thinking tools gained in module I to help the startup solve a specific challenge. Participants make concrete next steps for how they will use this knowledge once the program finish.
AT the end of the program participants will:
- Understand how major tech trends impacting social development in Africa.
- Be familiar with key tech developments and what possibilities they entail.
- Learnt from an investor’s perspective, when it comes to social tech startups.
- Have gained a scientific techniques and tools for creative problem solving process and design thinking methods.
- Understand agile processes and how/when to use them.
- Gained a strong network with other techvelopment professionals from different fields/organisations.
- Have cooperated closely with, and learnt directly from, African social tech startups.
Contact Jacob Lennheden on jacob@escalino.com to learn more.
For more info on Techvelopment as a concept, check out our blogpost on the topic
or our
Techvelopment White Paper.
For more info on Techvelopment as a concept, check out our blogpost on the topic
or our
Techvelopment White Paper.