Here’s What We Know About Akello Edutech’s Courses

Econet recently announced a new set of digital learning services and one of the most interesting of these is Akello Courses. Akello Edutech is partnering with Shaw Academy to offer online skill development with a focus on interactive education as it is “engaging and better for learning.” At least that’s how Akello feels about this. But for someone who is seriously considering taking one of these courses you may want to know some details which aren’t expressed in all the flowery talk.

What qualifications are you getting if you take these courses?

By partnering with Shaw the goal was probably to get a library of courses which is recognized and all the courses are accredited to the EQF -European Qualification Framework.. The EQF is a reference framework whose purpose is to make qualifications more readable and understandable across different countries and systems.

As of July 2017, all Shaw Academy Professional Higher Diploma programmes are credit-rated to EQF Level 5 by Edinburgh Napier University. This is the equivalent to the following levels in other continents:

• Associate Degree (USA)
• AQF Level Six (Australia)
• NQF Level Six (South Africa)
• QQF Level Eight (Canada)
• QCF Level Five

Which courses can you actually take?

There are 19 courses you can take as part of the Akello Courses:

• Graphic Design
• Digital Marketing
• Photography
• Sports & Exercise Nutrition
• Financial Trading and Investment
• Nutrition
• Photoshop
• Social Media Marketing
• Cryptocurrency
• Leadership & Management
• Mobile App Development
• Adobe Lightroom
• Fitness and Weight Loss
• English for Beginners
• Viral Marketing
• Web Development
• Web Design
• Guitar
• Personal Beauty

How are the classes taken?

With most online courses you take the classes or watch the lectures whenever you’re free. Shaw Academy doesn’t work exactly the same way. You take two classes a week (between Monday and Friday) and you can also pick the time you are comfortable with taking these lessons (9 AM- 10 PM). I’m not entirely sure why this is the case but if your schedule during the week is extremely tight and you preferred to race through the courses over the weekends, then this won’t be your best bet. The time limit is also a bit strange because it further limits you since you can’t take classes early on before going to work or school if either of those activities starts before 9 AM.

How much will it cost?

Monthly access to each Akello Edutech course will cost U$10 and if you want to pay using mobile money you will have to select the Cassava option > Mobile Money Payment and then input your mobile number. We’ve reached out to Cassava reps to understand whether the price remains $10 even if you’re paying with RTGS$.