Safaricom sub-brand BLAZE has grown its name, and is one of the carrier’s markers as far as curating products for young people is concerned. Over the years, BLAZE has ensured it offers products and services to its target audience that match their financial muscle, including data and voice products, as well as a series of competitions that have been staged to empower the youth economically.
BLAZE will, as of today, embark on a journey that will see people under the age of 26 access educational materials via a new e-learning platform named BLAZE LINK. The carrier refers to this new creation as an ‘aggregator of e-learning resources’ that appears to take on the same approach employed by the likes of LinkedIn’s Lynda.com and Udemy that offer video courses, among other materials for groups that want to gain knowledge in a given field such as software development and business skills.
Partners
It appears the idea of LINK has been in the pipeline for some time if its partners are anything to go by. Search giant Google is on board, as well as technology corporation IBM, hiring firms Brighter Monday and Wezesha as well as Cloud Factory.
The partners will play a critical role in ensuring learners get access to thousands of free online courses ranging from finance to software development.
The platform is the first product from the telco under the leadership of Michael Joseph, who took over from Bob Collymore after his passing. The interim CEO says LINK will complement Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) platform that takes part in empowering young people.
“BLAZE LINK is a new addition to the Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) platform, which is focused on empowering the youth as they journey towards success. We are leveraging on the power of digital platforms so that we can reach those who cannot make it to the BYOB summits and creation camps,” said Michael Joseph, Safaricom CEO.
The mentioned partners (Brighter Monday and Wezesha) will offer their expertise in ensuring LINK does a good job linking people to opportunities and giving them visibility.
Signing up
The LINK site (https://link.blaze.co.ke/) is live at the moment, although it appears that the signing up option is offline. Either way, interested parties will be subject to a small test to identify their strengths and skills, after which the platform will generate relevant courses for them.
Successful students will be linked to further training or available job opportunities for those who want to work.
Exclusive content
Similar to the aforementioned Udemy example, LINK will include exclusive content to master class video that will cover agribusiness, creative arts, fashion, film & photography, music, technology, and production & sales. This content will be paid for, so you may need to find out more about payment before making a commitment.
