Linking business and education in Ivory Coast

International Bilingual Schools of Africa (IBSA) in Côte d’Ivoire was born from the vision of parents and educators to create open schools where children, surrounded by caring and stimulating adults, can develop the best of their abilities in complete physical, moral and emotional security. In pursuit of a more integrated holistic curriculum, the five bilingual schools in Abidjan collaborated with PUM expert Jan Karel Verheij. Final aim is to bring French and English language, and culture closer together. This holistic approach ensures a multidisciplinary perspective, looking at the world as a whole and no longer divided into subjects.

Jan Karel: “We first mapped all schools in order to make clear choices aligned with our objective. The teachers and the management team demonstrated a strong commitment to improve the quality of the education together. From various recommendations, IBSA chose two priority areas: the pedagogical and didactic development of teachers and the further development of curricula. At the end of my stay, we developed a concrete implementation plan involving all stakeholders. This led to a pilot project centered on sustainable development, also embodying the holistic approach.”

Mutual interest

The project with IBSA coincided with another project in Abidjan. This project addressed the issue that parents invest hard-earned money in school fees, while children fail to attend school and fall behind. This is a significant issue in Ivory Coast. The company Gain in Abidjan developed a solution to address this challenge: a straightforward access system for students that registers their attendance. Parents receive SMS messages or phone calls if their children don’t show up. Schools generate reports from the system to submit to the education inspection.

Even though Gain had their finances in order and held a strong place in their market they have not been growing for two years and therefore they contacted PUM.
PUM expert Alex Timmermans collaborated with Gain to enhance marketing materials and expand the sales force.

Alex and Karel got together and spoke about the possibility of linking the two projects.

The two projects were successfully connected, ensuring a stable connection between the school system, entrepreneurs, parents and their children. Creating a great example of linking business and education.