Adewale Yusuf is a Nigerian, born and raised in Ibadan. He attended secondary school at Loyola college. He had to leave home when he was 16 years old. They could not send him to a tertiary institution but he has always loved school. He was able to save doing some jobs and the day he was going to pay his tuition fee he overheard someone talking about technology, he approached him and asked if it was something he could do and the man replied affirmatively. He used his tuition fees to buy a new laptop and started learning about coding. When he finished learning he started getting a few jobs.
He started Techpoint but the fire for schooling still burnt within him and he wanted to return to school. He went into the University of Ibadan and started doing distant learning. However, he was not very comfortable with the curriculum and it felt like it was not suited for people like him. He dropped out in his 400 level and started Talentql.
He had the dream of opening the biggest school in Africa, to overturn the present curriculum because it felt like it was becoming obsolete. It was becoming unsuitable for most and not rendering the right skills; he stated “if you do not give people the right skills and they do not get the right job, there will be a great problem.
He started Alt School. Alt School is a 100% virtual school. This school gives Africans the necessary skills. It was launched last year and anyone from any country can apply. Students from up to 17 countries are now registered in this school, even people from outside Africa. Some of the graduates of this school have gone on to earn $60,000-$80,000 yearly.
The Application process costs $20 after which you are sent a study guide for an exam. When you pass that exam, you get admitted into the school. The tuition costs $30 per month and the hours are flexible.
He understands the need for students to relate to other students which is one of the advantages of a physical school so he has created a community where the students can interact with each other and even meet if they want to. When asked his challenges, he said the trust is low, people feel this type of solution is hard to come from Africa and there is not enough talent to help run it.
Their headquarters is in Lagos and it contains a studio, they also have a studio in Rwanda. He said Alt school is here to stay and the Government should work with companies like them.