Partnering with BITS College as a local business partner in Ethiopia to address educational challenges.

In collaboration with BITS College, Castalia will utilize it's technology to address challenges related to population growth, such as educational issues and youth employment generation, in Ethiopia.

Castalia Co., Ltd. (CEO: Satoshi Yamawaki, Headquarters: Tokyo,Japan, hereinafter referred to as "Castalia") has partnered with the private university BITS College (located in Addis Ababa, represented by President Tesfaye Biru, PHD) as an educational business partner in Ethiopia, and has signed an MoU. Leveraging the resources of the university including its campus, faculty, and students, Castalia will work together to promote educational initiatives.

Left: Yamawaki CEO, Castalia and Right: Tesfaye CEO, BITS College

About Castalia's operation in Ethiopia

Castalia is actively promoting two digital education services, mobile learning and programming education in Africa. This is in response to the significant lack of education that can accommodate the rapid population growth in Africa, with insufficient preparations in place. The population increase in developing countries essentially means an increase in the number of children. Particularly, the foundational education at elementary and middle schools is already incapable of accommodating the future student numbers due to inadequate facilities. Even now, the situation lacks sufficient school buildings, classrooms, textbooks, and teachers, making it challenging to provide education to the growing number of students using traditional methods. Moreover, in various African countries, there's a prevalent issue of students being unable to attend school for various reasons, leading to high dropout rates at primary schools.

Additionally, the introduction of programming education is underway in several African countries. Kenya and Egypt, for instance, have made programming mandatory for fourth-grade elementary students. However, there's a lack of sufficient computers, networks, and proper teaching methods at the public education level.

Castalia aims to supplement the deficiency in public education through private-sector initiatives. To achieve this, it will deploy education utilizing digital tools across various regions. The key to this approach lies in the increasing number of mobile phone contracts and the widespread adoption of smartphones. By partnering with universities in different countries and leveraging their facilities and resources, Castalia aims for an agile and scalable expansion. Additionally, collaborative ventures with industries and mobile phone companies are also planned.

About BITS College

BITS College is a private higher education institution located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and was established in 2021. As indicated by its name, the university focuses on four areas: Business, Innovation, Technology, and Systems.

BITS employs experienced faculty in both education and business, offers a curriculum that responds to the latest technologies, provides well-equipped educational facilities including computers and networks, and utilizes cutting-edge technology to realize its educational vision.

URL: https://www.bitscollege.edu.et/

About Castalia

Castalia Inc. is a company that creates new learning with the motto "Education x IT to solve social issues. The company has developed the mobile learning platform "Goocus" and provides it to companies and educational institutions. Together with its original programming education materials, the company is expanding its business not only in Japan but also in the Middle East and Africa.

URL : https://en.castalia.co.jp/