Scott is CEO at EpiTek, a South African edtech startup. He considers edtech an amplifier for continuous learning. He aims to broaden access to education and training in the African market and to serve the underserved.
Access to formal education and training in emerging markets can be a hurdle, especially given limited internet access and the lack of funds, technological skills, support, and infrastructure. Even so, fresh opportunities continue to emerge in the education sector.
EpiTek, a SaaS edtech platform, is a game changer in providing end-to-end access to online education and training platform solutions. Spun out of an idea to increase access to online education in Africa, EpiTek launched with a vision of prioritizing the need to advance skilled and semiskilled workers via online training through continuous learning and development.
As Sam Burditt, Head of Product Development says, “We believe that through the provision of an easy-to-use educational platform we can provide a digital bridge for information which allows anyone to become educated.”
Started in 2021 by five co-founders from South Africa, EpiTek aims to be a leading provider of online education in Africa and beyond. The platform offers white-label, end-to-end solutions with fully customizable integrations to fit small- to large-scale customer requirements for a seamless learning experience.
Dean Adams, EpiTek COO, describes the platform this way:
Our platform provides a high level of efficiency to training providers looking to transition from in-person learning to a digital environment.
In many cases, multiple platforms are used to digitize educational processes and platform setup times. Our solution encompasses a fully digital learning life cycle that can be integrated and launched in about 60 minutes.
We will continue to provide a platform and service that is relatable and highly relevant to the African training and education industry that previously had to use Western-created content and services.
We built our core features on a single platform for easy access, increased learning, personalized training, automation, and more.
This core component allows students to register for courses in the marketplace and receive digitized education through a feature-rich and intuitive system. All content can be delivered to students through live virtual classrooms, self-paced, and blended learning.
Students can complete their online practical assessments within their registered courses. Educators can visualize submissions in real time for faster grading. The platform includes integrated proctor software that ensures all tests are credible and verifiable by educators, to avoid cheating.
This feature is enriched with options to register, track performance, and maintain student access and activity on the platform. It also includes student reporting functionality and other organizational tools essential to online learning and teaching.
Our in-depth user and financial analytics systems assist training providers with automated research and development. User engagement on the platform can be assessed, measured, and rated. A vast offering of financial metrics and additional courses is also available for a minimal fee.
A key benefit: Training providers do not require multiple platforms to serve their digital educational operations.
EpiTek partnered with Agora for its innovative, stable, and reliable real-time communication for the e-learning functionality of our platform. This partnership helps EpiTek provide live virtual classroom environments to training providers.
Campbell Green, EpiTek CTO explains:
Agora has been a great company to collaborate with. Their developer SDKs, documentation, support services, and quick responses helped make our integration process seamless. Their dedication to releasing new and improved features enables us to expand certain areas of our product offering. We researched multiple providers, and we chose to partner with Agora because of their broad array of available functionality and their support services.
Our partnership with Agora enables our customers to use interactive streaming, conferencing functionality, and interactive whiteboards to educate their students in real time. The real-time functionality encourages greater engagement between educator and student—an essential personal touch for online students.
Campbell adds: “EpiTek is proud to be one of Agora’s first clients in South Africa. We aim to show the applicability of Agora solutions in the African market while helping pioneer the edtech market in Africa.”
We are currently serving an underserved African private training market. Our solution can increase critical skills in the workforce and employability in the African market.
EpiTek aims to expand its product offering and add value to international markets globally in the coming years.
Let us help you kickstart your edtech training platform for success. Go to https://www.epitek.io/ to request a demo or meet with our team.