Challenges in Togo

Sparkassenstiftung has been working with the Togolese postal savings banks for several years now. The postal service office there represents the most important financial institution with almost one hundred branches throughout the country. Particularly in rural regions, these are often the only access to financial services. Employees in these rural branch offices not only carry out savings transactions but also provide the usual postal services from stamps to postal money orders.

The great challenge lies in the training and education of staff members. In the past, employees were only trained in a decentralized and individual manner, whereby newcomers copied their knowledge, including all mistakes, at the neighboring counter. At the same time, the country's sparse infrastructure makes regular meetings at the training center in the capital Lomé difficult. 

Establishing a common digital strategy

Therefore, a process was urgently needed that would allow uniform training and education while at the same time being able to bridge large physical distances. In cooperation with the Postal Savings Banks, the Sparkassenstiftung team developed the content basis for a special course system, which is now available in digital form for the first time.

With the new e-learning platform, educational work can be managed in a tangible way: Participation can be easily verified, and the trainers of the individual courses are able to post their content there themselves, supplementing it with media or tests. The interactive focus and possibilities distinguish the e-learning platform from a webinar. Another great advantage is the app that comes with it, which allows users to access the learning content without an Internet connection.

Sustainable success

The innovative combination of the e-learning platform and the subject-specific content of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe is already showing success: hence, within the framework of the Sub-Saharan regional project, an expansion of the program is already planned for the countries of Madagascar and Zambia.

Project Manager Joseph Roseveare and Nermin Kazel, Country Director of Sparkassenstiftung in Togo, are pleased that the dual vocational training program in Togo - despite the Corona Pandemic and thanks to the E-learning platform - can be continued.

Jennifer Berbuir | jennifer.berbuir--at--sparkassenstiftung.de