Firm leverages technology to boost literacy, reading culture

In its bid to ensure that Nigerian children have access to books and at affordable costs amid economic hardship, Learn Africa, a leading publishing company, is leveraging technology as a solution to high cost of books.

Chairman, Learn Africa Plc, Emeke Iwerebon, who disclosed this at its 51st general meeting, said the organisation has invested substantially in improving its digital platforms, particularly its online app and e-commerce platform.

He lamented that due to economic challenges, many families have shifted to essential needs, while abandoning non-essential purchases like books, needed to advance their children’s education and development.

He noted that the launch of its e-learning app was part of strategies by the company to help families cushion the impact of the economic crisis by assisting them in getting educational resources at cheaper rates.

“We recognise the crucial role reading plays in a child’s development and firmly believe every child should have access to materials that spark their imagination and fuel their love for learning,” he said.

Iwerebon said the company is digitalising because it believes that over time, 40 per cent of learning materials will be digitalised.

“We believe digitalisation will give us the sustainable future dreamt of. We have also digitalised our operations, which would go a long way in improving our efficiency at a reduced cost and eliminating wastes,” he said.

While analysing its operational environment for the 2023/2024 financial year, Iwerebon said despite the harsh economic environment, it achieved 18 per cent growth in revenue, increasing from N3.472 billion in 2023 to N4.084 billion in 2024.

He added that the company also achieved a marginal increase in gross profit from N1.908 billion in 2023 to N2.122 billion in 2024, having been profoundly affected by the unprecedented surge in publication costs of over 70 per cent during the calendar year.

On his part, the Managing Director, Hassan Bala, stressed the need for schools and parents to embrace the innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled e-learning platform by Learn Africa, noting that textbooks bought at over N65,000 by secondary school students can be accessed with N5,000 through the company’s e-books format.

Bala disclosed that there are over 3,000 current users on the App, adding that efforts are ongoing to ensure more states key into the initiative.

He said: “Keying into technology is the new reality, and that is why we are investing in it to ensure that we are able to provide the right content to all our target audience.”

Bala, who noted that education is gradually shifting from hard book reading, said the advent of technology, which is the new reality, has made learning easier as it could be done alongside other activities.

He said: “Using the Learn Africa App costs a student just N5,000 per year, as against spending about N65,000 to buy physical books. Students can access all Learn Africa books from Primary 1 to 6, and junior secondary 1 to senior secondary 3 on the App, which are all curriculum-based and can be accessed fully offline.”

Bala assured that efforts are being made to curb the issue of piracy, which is affecting education quality, and assured the government to support the effort with policies and sufficient funding for the copyright commission.

“Looking at the dynamism of technology, we’re leveraging on that, because the cost of inputs such as papers and other production costs have gone up by over 300 per cent, and has negatively affected prices of books, impeding parents’ purchasing power,” Bala stated.