Project Rubicon by Well Told Story

With TRANSFORM, Well Told Story is running Project Rubicon to design and test an inclusive connectivity model that provides more engaging and productive content for women and young people when they go online. The goal is to increase the proportion of women and young people benefiting from the roll-out of rural wifi, helping them look after themselves, their families and their employment prospects.

More and more rural women and young people are going online in Kenya, but for them to fully capture the potential value and opportunity of the internet there is a need for more relevant and appropriate online content oriented to their specific context and information needs.

In the Rubicon project, Well Told Story creates a curriculum of learning content under their “Hustler MBA” brand, tailored specifically to meet the needs of rural women and young people in Kenya who are keen to develop their small business skills.

Funding provided by TRANSFORM makes it possible for multiple small groups of learners to gather together to engage with Well Told Story’s online videos and learning materials in wifi-enabled hubs provided by the local internet provider, Mawingu. In parallel, live youth festivals organised by Well Told Story promote the goals and values of micro-entrepreneurs and bring the powerful offer of Mawingu low cost wifi to the attention of youth audiences around central Kenya.

Research activities track the audience engagement, uptake and impact of the project alongside practical lessons learned.