University’s AI-powered tech set to transform learning

A free learning course delivered by an AI-powered ‘DigiBot’ on WhatsApp has been created by researchers at the University of Derby to make learning more accessible and improve financial literacy.

They have worked alongside Digify Africa, a youth-led digital skills provider, to launch ‘Lwazi’ – an interactive mobile learning experience that uses WhatsApp to deliver financial literacy skills.

The project aims to upskill African entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 35 in sub-Saharan Africa who lack access to affordable, quality financial literacy education.

The DigiBot addresses accessibility issues among disadvantaged and rural communities by offering a mobile-first service that is free to use, utilising the fact that South Africa has a 95% usage rate of WhatsApp.

The Lwazi financial literacy bot is funded by Nedbank, one of the largest financial services groups on the African continent.

Since its launch, the Lwazi Digibot has already reached hundreds of learners in South Africa, offering critical consumer education on both personal and business finance.

Lwazi follows the success of three previous DigiBots launched with the support of the University of Derby and funded by Meta.

The individual WhatsApp learning bots are designed with relatable personalities to upskill young people in areas such as digital safety, digital literacy and digital marketing.

Now, researchers at the University of Derby are hoping to bring DigiBots, an accessible and engaging way of learning, to the rest of the world.

Dr Elnerine Greeff, senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Derby and lead researcher on the project, said: “We are very excited about the potential scale this research could have across the globe.

“The preliminary results for our ‘Lwazi’ DigiBot are very promising, with some users finding the Bot so engaging they were unsure as to whether it was human or not.

“Financial literacy is a worldwide issue, and access to free learning should be available to everyone, which is why we hope we can now use the success of this technology in South Africa and bring it to the rest of the world.”

Dr Hassam Waheed, lecturer in business, economic and social policy at the University of Derby and a researcher on the project, said: “As young people are gaining financial literacy skills, it is improving their quality of life as they are becoming financially empowered – the two elements are interlinked, which is why our analysis of the project is so important to informing the future of learning models.”