SABAQ recently participated in Global Education & Skills Forum 2018 conference in Dubai and words cannot even begin to describe the grandeur of the event and, brilliance and ingenuity of the participating projects. But what got us full of the joys of spring was SABAQ’s nomination as one of the Top 40 EdTech startups from across the world! We were the only program from Pakistan, and we couldn’t be more proud to have represented our country at GESF 2018!

This year the Varkey Foundation launched the first ‘Next Billion’ Ed-Tech prize to award an innovative and promising technology which will have a far-reaching impact on education in low income communities and developing countries.

This new prize category will recognize and promote the winning EdTech startup for its inventiveness to improve learning and making education accessible in parts of the world where there is limited access to good quality teaching.

Co-Founder & CEO – SABAQ Hassan Bin Rizwan, pitching SABAQ’s innovative Learning Centres

SABAQ presented it’s innovative Learning Centres model for the prize –A model that not only delivers high-quality learning using technology in a sustainable way, it also engages and empowers community members. And while SABAQ did not win the prize, we certainly did leave our mark on the judges and participants.

At the conference as we shifted gears between panel discussions and roundtable sessions, this eloquent and insightful comment really got us thinking, ‘I see students in my classroom with their cell phones. I still see that a quality education is required to make the most of this cheap widespread technology.’  Said Marj Brown, Varkey Teacher Ambassador, and we couldn’t agree more.

With this in mind, SABAQ is already leveraging the use of low-cost tablets to provide access to quality education in over 500 SABAQ centers and 222 PEF schools in Sindh and Punjab. According to statistics, almost 40 million people in Pakistan are currently using smartphones and with such heavy penetration of cellular gadgets, leveraging cheap technology to deliver quality education can be used to make the most out of this widespread technology.

Overall, the event was meticulously planned, from giddy-up to whoa! SABAQ’s participation in this event made us consciously aware of the incredible and unique ways people around the world are coming up with to make education accessible. As a program, SABAQ has come a long way and yet, there is so much more left to be done. Check out the highlights of the event by clicking here.