Youth Impact

Managing and organizing image submissions via WhatsApp is a common challenge for NGOs—but automation can change that. In our latest webinar, Youth Impact shared how they’ve integrated a WhatsApp chatbot with Google Sheets to streamline real-time file submissions, improve facilitator engagement, and enhance learning outcomes in their Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) program. Key Takeaways: - Automating image collection improves accuracy and reduces manual effort. - A structured Google Sheets integration allows seamless tracking and analysis. - WhatsApp chatbots enhance accessibility, making data collection easier for facilitators. A big thank you to Emilie Berkhout & Konstantin Büchel for sharing their experiences and best practices. Missed the session? Watch the recording here: https://lnkd.in/gcNnB_BM Want to explore chatbot automation for your NGO? Let’s connect: https://lnkd.in/gbvdSwXb #TechForGood #WhatsAppAutomation #ChatbotsForChange #NGOImpact #DigitalTransformation #Glific Aishwarya Shekar Sneha Trivedi Project Tech4Dev

Scaling up in South Africa 🥳 The South Africa team had the pleasure of hosting Krishna Ramesh from Prevail Fund, who visited our partner schools in Mafikeng to witness the evidence-based targeted instruction we are supporting in action. With the continued support of our funders and the Department of Basic Education, we’re excited to grow this initiative and reach even more young learners across South Africa. #EducationforAll #ScalingUp Mulago The LEGO Foundation Jacobs Foundation PAL Network Tendekai Mukoyi-Nkwane Teaching at the Right Level Africa

🔎 In our 2025 Education Compass report, we found that 9 out of 10 Standard 4 students in Botswana are below grade level in their foundational numeracy skills. These skills are crucial for academic success–failing to build this foundation can cause students to fall further behind in school. So what can be done to improve learning? Here are 3 recommendations from our study: 1️⃣ Incorporate targeted instruction approaches to strengthen foundational skills. Targeted instruction is an approach that groups children by ability rather than grade or age, and targets teaching to each specific level. 2️⃣ Inform caregivers about children’s skill levels and help them support learning. Caregivers requested 1) more communication about student results and 2) strategies to help support the students at home. 3️⃣ Measure foundational learning periodically. Literacy and numeracy skills are the building blocks of any education system. Assessing these skills representatively over time helps identify the needs of students, caregivers, and educators. Dive into the full research paper here: https://lnkd.in/dWZ_RVgg #EducationinBotswana #YouthImpactResearch #EducationCompass Jacobs Foundation Pratham Education Foundation Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) PAL Network What Works Hub for Global Education

 🚀 Harnessing AI for Global Development 🚀 We're thrilled to have participated in the recent AI for Global Development Sprint in Bangalore! Our Head of Partnerships for India, Rohan Katepallewar, presented Youth Impact’s global work, its ‘evidence-first’ approach, and our expertise in A/B testing and iterative program improvement—key pillars that drive our mission. He also shared the incredible progress of the Ganitha Ganaka program in Karnataka and our bold ambitions under the Agency Fund's AI for Global Development Accelerator Program. With the support of The Agency Fund, we are scaling to millions more children by adding AI features to our proven-effective remote tutoring program. This was the first of many exciting engagements bringing partners together for social innovations using AI. Exciting times ahead. 🚀 #RemoteEducation #EducationForAll #ScalingImpact #AIforGlobalDevelopment OpenAI Alokit What Works Hub for Global Education Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) Center for Global Development

🧭 Education Compass: The state of student learning in Botswana 📖 We recently conducted our annual survey on the state of student learning in Botswana. We assessed nearly 2000 Standard 4 students across 60 schools and interviewed their caregivers. The Education Compass focuses on foundational numeracy skills (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) that students are expected to master by Standard 3. Here’s what we found: 1️⃣ 9 out of 10 students are below grade level in numeracy. These foundational skills are critical for academic success, as failing to build a strong foundation causes students to fall further behind as they progress through school. 2️⃣ There is a large disparity in performance among advantaged and disadvantaged groups. Girls outperform boys, wealthier students outperform less wealthy students, and there is regional variation in performance. 3️⃣ Fewer than 1 in 4 caregivers could accurately assess their child’s numeracy level. This might be due to limited connection with homework and limited contact with teachers (70% of caregivers met with their child’s teachers 2 or fewer times across the previous four terms). 4️⃣ There is strong caregiver demand for more learning time and improving educational quality. Parents called for improved teacher training and higher-quality teaching including grouping children in different classes by ability. Read up on all our findings and more at: https://lnkd.in/dWZ_RVgg #EducationinBotswana #YouthImpactResearch #EducationCompass Pratham Education Foundation Jacobs Foundation What Works Hub for Global Education Africa Evidence Network (AEN) Gates Foundation PAL Network

Youth Impact at CIES Conference 2025 🥳 We're looking forward to this year's CIES conference–it's always a valuable experience to share the best of our learnings from the past year, and learn from others doing similar work. Here's a list of all the events we're participating in. In particular, we invite organizations interested in learning about A/B testing to optimize their education programming to attend our workshop on Sunday 23rd March. Hope to see you there! 💪 #CIES2025 #EducationForChange #GlobalImpact #EducationMatters Armando Ali Samuel Kembou, PhD Noam Angrist Rukmini Banerji Amanda Beatty Robert Colin Crossley Michelle Kaffenberger Tendekai Mukoyi-Nkwane Angelica Towne Amporo Whitney Warren James Wilkinson Building Tomorrow Jacobs Foundation What Works Hub for Global Education Pratham Education Foundation Brink Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office PAL Network Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) The LEGO Foundation Mulago Rocket Learning CIES - Comparative & International Education Society Save the Children International Gates Foundation

In Botswana, 9 out of 10 students in Standard 4 are below the expected grade level. Our 2025 Education Compass study assessed nearly 2000 students and interviewed their caregivers. The study provides insights into students' foundational skills in Botswana, informing regional and national conversations.  Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dWZ_RVgg #EducationinBotswana #YouthImpactResearch #EducationCompass Jacobs Foundation Pratham Education Foundation What Works Hub for Global Education Africa Evidence Network (AEN) Gates Foundation PAL Network

In Botswana, 9 out of 10 students in Standard 4 are below the expected grade level. Our 2025 Education Compass study assessed nearly 2000 students and interviewed their caregivers. The study provides insights into students' foundational skills in Botswana, informing regional and national conversations.  Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dWZ_RVgg #EducationinBotswana #YouthImpactResearch #EducationCompass Jacobs Foundation Pratham Education Foundation What Works Hub for Global Education Africa Evidence Network (AEN) Gates Foundation PAL Network

In Botswana, 9 out of 10 students in Standard 4 are below the expected grade level. Our 2025 Education Compass study assessed nearly 2000 students and interviewed their caregivers. The study provides insights into students' foundational skills in Botswana, informing regional and national conversations.  Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dWZ_RVgg #EducationinBotswana #YouthImpactResearch #EducationCompass Jacobs Foundation Pratham Education Foundation What Works Hub for Global Education Africa Evidence Network (AEN) Gates Foundation PAL Network

A great experience visiting schools where Ganitha Ganaka, our evidence-driven 1:1 phone-based tutoring program, is transforming learning outcomes. Teachers’ dedication to tutoring students AFTER school hours was inspiring. During the visit, we also explored how simple voice-based AI prototypes could complement teachers’ efforts—making the program more efficient and scalable while ensuring impact remains intact. Exciting conversations with Han Sheng Chia and Elia Gandolfi from The Agency Fund during this visit. Their support in this discovery phase strengthens our vision for AI-driven innovations for achieving learning outcomes. This is just the beginning—keen to collaborate with funders, researchers, and tech partners as we scale in different parts of the world! Youth Impact Noam Angrist Moitshepi Matsheng Claire Cullen Karen Clune Colin