On October 1, 2019, COL and its partners, Vidiyal and Reddiarchatthiram Seed Growers Association in India, launched a massive open online course (MOOC) on corporate literacy. The content has been adapted from original materials developed by India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.

This course is meant for members of Farmer Producers Organizations whose shareholders are mostly farmers with access to limited or no bankable assets. COL’s Lifelong Learning for Farmers Initiative has been working with India-based partners and with NABARD over the last nine months to build a series of measures to build capacity of these shareholders to access new finances and credit from formal channels.

In this first offering, about 2500 learners have been enrolled. The aim is to reach 20,000 learners by June 2020. Each offering has a duration of four weeks. The learning materials are delivered as audio clips that can be access using a simple mobile phone. An App is available for those that want to use a smart phone. Assessments are available and eligible learners will receive certificates. The technology used in this unique MOOC was designed and tested by our partner, Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur (IITK) over the last two years. A report on this technology is available in COL’s institutional resource repository.

“This is an innovation in bringing the scalability of MOOC and credible certification to the paradigm of informal learning. Credible certification is an essential step for banking institutions in granting access to finances to those that succeed in informal learning” says Dr Venkataraman Balaji, Vice President of COL.