Thierry N’Doufou and nine other IT experts at Siregex, a tech company based in the Ivory Coast, have developed Qelasy – an eight-inch tablet set for launch next month for Ivorian students.
N’Doufou said the tablet was developed specifically for the Ivorian market, to bring local school kids into the digital era. He said he got the idea to develop the tablet after seeing children suffering under the weight of their backpacks full of textbooks.
“It is more than me feeling sorry for them. It is also about filling the digital gap between the south and the north, and bringing Ivorian education into the 21st century,” N’Doufou said.
Qelasy means ‘classroom’ in several African languages, including Akan, Malinke, Lingala and Bamileke. The team started the project by converting all government-approved Ivorian textbooks into digital format.
“We were obligated to process everything in a way [that would render] quality images for high definition screens. It is a lot of work,” N’Doufou said.
“We also enriched the curriculum with images and videos to make the educational experience more convivial.”
The tablet operates on an Android operating system (OS) and is resistant to water splashes, dust, humidity and heat.
“The Qelasy is protected against everything that an African pupil without transportation might encounter during the walk to and from school,” N’Doufou said. “We knew we needed our own product. Our clients’ needs are very specific.”
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
