Baobab is a microfinance group that has been serving small entrepreneurs in Africa and China for over 17 years. With its 4,000 employees, Baobab has positioned itself as a key player on the market by offering credit products, savings and payment methods adapted to the needs of small businesses. Present in 7 countries, Baobab now has more than one million customers.
Baobab Group, a major player in microfinance in Africa and China, faces a challenge common to many international organizations: effectively train teams that are very geographically dispersed, a large part of which works in rural areas that are difficult to access.
With Beedeez, the band created Baobab Academy, a white label mobile training platform, designed for continuous learning in the field. Result: 95% active users, 60,000 training capsules completed and 85% success rate in a context marked by strong geographical and operational constraints.
The challenge: to train field teams spread over 7 countries
Present for over 17 years, Baobab Group supports small entrepreneurs through adapted credit, savings and payment solutions. The group counts today over 1 million customers and 4,000 employees in 7 countries, mostly as close as possible to local realities.
This field location is a major business asset, but it poses a real challenge in terms of training.
Before Beedeez: a one-off and geographically limited training
4 critical challenges to overcome:
- Geographic remoteness : teams mostly in rural areas, which are difficult to reach with traditional training formats.
- Discontinuous training : a model focused on onboarding, then only a few days of training per year.
- Equitable access to training : significant differences between headquarters and field teams, depending on the country and zone
- Long-term skills development : few solutions to anchor learning on a daily basis.
A negative impact on the group's business and employees
This training model made it difficult to maintain a consistent level of skills across the group.
Employees in rural areas were disadvantaged, and training could not effectively support the evolution of jobs and practices.
The solution: Baobab Academy, mobile and continuous training
Three years ago, Baobab Group decided to radically change its approach.
“It was obvious to us that our model needed to evolve: we wanted to offer continuing education, accessible to everyone, regardless of place or time, in order to reinforce the development of skills over the year.”
— Anne Delvern, Training Director
Beedeez is therefore obvious: a platform Mobile-first, simple to deploy, capable of functioning even in contexts of limited connection.
The 4 pillars of the Baobab Academy strategy
1. Universal accessibility
- Training available anywhere, anytime
- Mobile access, without relying on a computer
- Offline features adapted to areas with poor connectivity
2. Short, useful and directly actionable content
- Educational capsules lasting a few minutes
- Learning integrated into daily work
- Over 400 capsules created to measure
3. Continuous and measurable learning
- Transition from one-off training to regular apprenticeship
- Precise monitoring of commitment and results
- Courses adapted to business realities
4. White label for total ownership
- Creation of Baobab Academy, the group's internal LMS
- 100% customized platform in Baobab colors
- Adoption facilitated by a strong identity
The deployment took place gradually: first via Beedeez Training, then as a white label at the group level, once the value was proven.
The keys to success
1. Mobile-first as a condition for adoption
In a field environment, mobile is not a bonus: it is a prerequisite. Offline features allowed massive adoption, where face-to-face was impossible.
2. The transition to a logic of continuing education
By replacing one-off sessions with regular apprenticeships, Baobab has sustainably strengthened the skills of its teams.
3. The white label to institutionalize training
The deployment took place gradually: first via Beedeez Training, then as a white label at the group level, once the value was proven. With Baobab Academy, training becomes an internal pillar of the group, fully integrated into its culture
Three major impacts on the transmission of knowledge
🟢 95% active users
3,800 employees trained out of 4,000, divided into 7 countries, including in rural areas that are difficult to access.
👉 Proof that mobile-first and offline are removing geographic barriers.
🟢 60,000 capsules completed
A volume that demonstrates a sustainable commitment, well beyond one-off training.
👉 Training becomes a reflex integrated into daily work.
🟢 85% success rate for training courses
A high score in a demanding terrain context.
👉 The contents are understood, assimilated and directly actionable.
Testimonial — Anne Delvern, Training Director
“Of course, the initial training was solid, with several weeks of skills development. But then, we often went to two or three days of training during the year, with little follow-up, and therefore with limited impact.
With a success rate of 85% on our capsules, our objective is now to ensure that training is institutionalized at Baobab.
Building on the very good collaboration with Beedeez, we want to go even further, especially with regard to technical training and skills monitoring.”
What if distance was no longer an obstacle to competence??
Discover how Beedeez makes it possible to effectively train dispersed employees, in rural areas or internationally.
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