Ubongo is a Tanzanian social enterprise that creates interactive edutainment for learners in Africa, delivered to them via the technologies they already have. An important factor behind the success of Ubongo is a continuous human-centred design process and ‘design with the user’ approach – in this case the users are Tanzanian children aged 3–6 years and their parents. Building user testing and rapid experimentation into the production process has allowed Ubongo to craft a product that is much more effective and engaging than if they were to simply create from prior knowledge and expertise. As this example shows, there can often be a big difference between the two.

Claudine Lim

Manager at The Principles for Digital Development

Claudine first joined the Digital Impact Alliance in October 2017, shortly after receiving a dual masters in international relations and public relations from the Maxwell School and S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University. After working as a Program Coordinator and Researcher for DIAL’s Business Operations, she is currently working with the Principles of Digital Development.