Educational Tablets for Africa

　　During the past year， Africa has been describedas a digital Eldorado by many international actors. Giventhe progressive saturation of the digital market in developedcountries， emerging economies with low levelsof equipment and strong growth capacity are seen asalternative markets with a promising future. The digitalfield provides countless business and investment opportunities，particularly when it comes to tactile tablets- the rate of sales growth in emerging countries reached145 percent in 2013.

　　Besides， increasing needs for mobile Internet technologyon the African continent makes it an attractivetarget for many local and foreign manufacturers，not to mention the diversity and size of its market.However， the challenge lies in developing productsthat meet the specific needs and expectations ofthe countries in demand. Hence educational tabletswere introduced into the African market in October2013. Designed primarily for primary and secondaryschools as well as universities， they are expected tofacilitate access to technology and knowledge in abroad swath of previously underserved areas.

　　A means toward social development

　　Many African countries suffer from a serious educationaldeficit due to the use of outdated learning materials.In this context， educational tablets are seen as an instrumentfor social development. In addition to helpingpeople acquire knowledge related to new technologies，the use of tablets also gives access to abundant and updatedinteractive resources as well as customizedcontents adapted to individual needs.

　　Fully designed for African school kidsand their environment， the Qelasy tabletdeveloped by Ivorian IT expert ThierryN’Doufou comes in three sub-brands respectivelytargeting children， adolescentsand adults in the education system. In additionto being compatible with about 1，000apps on Android 4.2， this tablet is linked to awebsite where teachers can submit all typesof content and information for students andtheir families.

　　As part of the growing family of African tabletsthe Qelasy is expected to feature in the upcomingschool year. The first African tactile tablet， the Way-C，developed by Verona Mankou from Congo， came outin September 2011， and Africa’s first medical tablet，the Cardiopad， was designed and assembled in 2013by Cameroonian Arthur Zang.

　　Tablets offer expanded learning opportunities thatgo beyond the academic aspect. Thus， the Chinesestartup MySimax， whose main objective is to providehigh-quality tablets to African students in the highereducation system， plans to expand its services to keysectors such as health and public administration. Theidea is to develop educational applications for peopleworking in those fields and the ones benefiting fromtheir services. J.X. Paulin， co-founder of MySimax， said“In order to progress， a country needs two things：educated people and healthy people.”

　　After 20 years of doing business inChina， this Franco-Togolese entrepreneuraims to bridge the digital divide betweenAfrican countries and other countriesthat are already firmly rooted in their time：

　　not only the United States with innovativeproducts like Google Glass， but alsocountries like Singapore， where thegovernment supports the use of tabletsin primary schools， and Thailand， whichinitiated the program “one tablet perchild” in 2013. “Never in the history ofAfrica has the continent benefited fromsuch a technology，” said Paulin aboutdigital tablets. However， he believes that asuccessful digital switchover will require both a visionand resources.

　　China - major player in African digitization

　　Nowadays， most digital tablets are assembled near thesouthern Chinese city of Shenzhen. Assembly factoriesof renowned brands such as Apple and Hewlett-Packardare located in this area. As a manufacturing hub， Chinaparticipates indirectly in the process of African digitization.

　　But on the other hand， the country is also veryactive on the continent， particularly in East Africa whereit became the leader of the digital infrastructure market.

　　However， China regularly faces criticism regardingthe quality of its products， and the digital tabletsmarket is no exception， especially because of the proliferationof low-cost devices equipped with unsuitableprocessors and low-quality batteries. This raisesthe perennial question of the balance between thereduction of manufacturing costs and the guaranteeof good quality.

　　According to Thibaud André， an employee at MySimax，“China has been producing increasingly highervalue-added products for decades. It is no longerthe textile workshop of the world. Chinese brandssuch as Huawei and Lenovo are competing withmarket leaders and snatch market shares from Appleand Samsung. The key is to stop underspending onproduction in order to upgrade to leading brands.”

　　Innovative Chinese tablets

　　MySimax is committed to selling high-quality productsat a more affordable price than market leaders. In additionto being specially developed by engineers， thetablets and applications of the brand are the result of amajor benchmarking policy， Paulin told ChinAfrica.

　　Those 3G compatible tablets are equipped with afast processor. They work on Android 4.2 and comewith a bluetooth keyboard， a mouse and a stylus penin order to ensure a convenient and straightforwarduse for the large number of tech novices in Africa.While developing the educational platform， engineersfollowed the same logic and focused on creating anintuitive tactile environment that wouldn’t require theuse of softwares likely to slow down the product.Although the main ambition of Paulin is to generalizethe use of educational tablets in Africa and makesure even the poorest have access to knowledge，realizing the transition toward a digital switchover isnot an easy task. According to Paulin， member statesof the Economic and Monetary Community of CentralAfrica (CEMAC) and sparsely populated countriesappear to be the best candidates to target first. As amatter of fact， the brand’s first tablets were designedfor use in Gabon last year.

　　The Chinese startup is currently turning to theprivate sector which is “more practical and faster，”according to Paulin， who hopes that the craze foreducational tablets in private schools will pique theinterest of public institutions. Indeed， only throughthis second channel will MySimax be able to equipas many students as possible for free or at a reducedprice.

　　MySimax has already established a partnershipwith two Gabonese private schools in order to offer ascholarship called “China Journey” to the top studentsof their class. In addition to getting one semesterin China with all costs covered， every beneficiarywill receive the equivalent of 13，000 yuan ($2，080).

　　According to an agreement with the Sylvia BongoOndimba Foundation for the Family - a foundationheaded by Gabon’s first lady - every time 100 tabletsare sold in the private sector， five will go to studentswho can’t afford one. As modest as it seems， thiscontribution is a first step toward the ultimate goal ofthose who created the educational tablets： enablingeveryone to learn in tune with the times.