UNICEF, Gov’t partner to accelerate “Fundoo” digital platform, equipping young people with soft skills to boost their careers.

Ministry Of Gender, Labour and Social Development, together with UNICEF Uganda AND Over 13 Universities in Uganda have joined hands to skill young people, especially university students to enhance the uptake of a digital platform known as ‘Fundoo’ to enable young people to access skills that will bridge their careers from training institutions to the work market in Uganda

The Assistant Commissioner Youth and Children’s Affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Mr. Mondo Kyateka, speaking at the event held on 26th November 2024 at Hotel Africana urged young people to consider new technology adaption to better their skills, by signing onto Chatbots such as FunDoo, which he said is is readily available at no cost both via text and WhatsApp daily, making learning timely whenever required.

"77% of Uganda’s population are youth, below the age of 30, of which 64% are unemployed. FunDoo presents a platform through which young people can be equipped with 21st-century and employability skills while preparing them for their future.”

He said that the skills accessed on the Fundoo platform including, Communication, Collaboration, Critical thinking, and Creative thinking among others, are intended to help young people in school and out of school keep up with the pace of today’s modern workspaces and industries

The Adolescent Development Manager at UNICEF Uganda Mr. Khushbakht Hojiev, said, “At UNCEF Uganda, we believe in advancing greater skilling opportunities amongst young people by offering 21st century skills through tools such as ‘FunDoo’, a digital life coach.  We recognize that a multi-sectoral approach that blends UNICEF Uganda with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, together with all the 15 partner Universities will deliver a progressive change in accelerating 21st century skilling amongst young people faster.”

Khushbakht said that the rapidly changing future ready skills and the new ways learning is done even outside schools is what makes ‘FunDoo’ relevant for young people.

"We have voluntarily registered over 30,000 users onto the FunDoo platform in Uganda alone& aiming at recruiting at least 1 M users to create an impactful skilling change amongst Uganda’s young people" he said

Khushbakht further added that “Due to its chat-based medium, ‘FunDoo’ provides access to learning with low internet connectivity, making it accessible to all young people, including those who in hard-to-reach areas. For learners in areas that don’t have internet access, we encourage them to use the SMS based version of ‘FunDoo’ which equally offers free skills for young people”

According to UNICEF, FunDoo is a unique tool offering; Experiential learning giving learners content through experiential learning, where they choose the skills they want, and embark on an engaging and fun learning experience, Bite-sized modules content is divided into learning modules or 'tasks' which take 30-45 minutes to complete and have a specific learning outcome, Self-paced learning to provide flexibility in completing tasks at their own pace wherever they are among other skills.

Okot Francis, President Uganda National Students Association said, ‘The teaching we have been getting doesn’t give us all the skills we need. I appreciate the soft skills being captured in the new lower Secondary school curriculum. For us who are graduating now, we need to embrace FunDoo to support us adapt to the changing environment of work which is unpredictable and requires both class and soft skills.”

He added that with FunDoo, young people can access a range of information, from career development and mental health to climate change, gender-based violence, vaccine uptake, communication skills and much more, and prepares young people to seize opportunities and confront challenges in a rapidly changing world, make informed decisions, become responsible citizens, and achieve their full potential.

How access Fundoo.

All ‘’FunDoo’ content is free and young people can access it by simply Texting ‘FunDoo’ to SMS 8500 or WhatsApp 0709 168 500 and tap into a world of greater skilling possibilities, using a digital life coach.

Once a task is completed on FunDoo, young people can get automated certificates and giveaways in the form of skills badges and learner boards where they can track their ‘FunDoo’ learning journeys. Workshops and webinars are organized to incentivize highly engaged users.

To ensure data protection from young people, ‘FunDoo’ gathers very limited personal information and keeps the data private and secure.

Participating Universities/ Associations:

Uganda National Students Association, Makerere University Kampala Makerere University Business School, Uganda Christian University, Busitema University, Gulu university, Lira University, Muni University, Kampala International University, Soroti University, Kabale University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Muteesa I University, King Cesear University, and St Lawrence University.