The Rumie Initiative
| Founded | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Tariq Fancy |
| Type | Non-Profit |
| Focus | Education, Technology |
| Location |
|
Area served | 20+ Countries worldwide |
| Product | Rumie Tablet, LearnCloud |
Key people | Tariq Fancy |
The Rumie Initiative (Rumie) is a non-profit based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The organization develops and delivers low-cost technology that enables the distribution of digital learning resources to communities with limited Internet access.
History
[edit]The Rumie Initiative was founded by Tariq Fancy in 2013 to educate children in underserved communities around the world using affordable technology.[1]
Rumie's products are deployed in more than 20 countries worldwide.[2] The organization received popular attention during the 2014 Ebola Crisis, when it partnered with the Liberian NGO Camp for Peace to deploy Rumie tablets as part of a rehabilitation program for child soldiers.[3] As a result of the Ebola epidemic, however, schools across the country were shuttered,[4] and Rumie's tablets quickly became a resource for children to continue their education from home.[5]
In 2015, Rumie began deploying its technology to assist children affected by the Syrian refugee crisis.[6][7] At the time, a primary challenge was the deficit of free digital learning content for Syrian students. In response to this issue, Rumie announced during a 2015 presentation at Y-Combinator that it was opening the LearnCloud—a portal for free-license learning content, allowing users to find, share, and rate free digital educational resources.[8]
Funding
[edit]Tariq Fancy, a former investment banker and private equity investor, founded Rumie with his personal savings, committing to work without salary until the organization became financially sustainable. In early 2014, Rumie raised $1 million in philanthropic donations from outside backers, including Ed Clark, the retired CEO of TD Bank, Rob McEwen, the chairman and CEO of McEwen Mining Inc.,[1] and Mark Wiseman, then the CEO of the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.[8] Rumie has subsequently raised funding from large institutional backers, including Google[9] and Scotiabank.[10]
Recognition
[edit]The Rumie Initiative has received widespread coverage in the mainstream media, including CNBC,[11] The Toronto Star,[1] CBC,[12] Quartz,[6] Forbes,[5] and Mashable.[3] Harvard Business School[8] and INSEAD[13] have both published case studies or profiles on the organization's mission and progress.
During its three-year existence, the organization has also garnered numerous awards. In 2014, Rumie was named the "Best Social Startup" by Global Entrepreneurship Week.[14] In 2015, the organization graduated from the Y-Combinator Imagine K-12 accelerator. In 2016, the US Library of Congress awarded Rumie a prize for literacy promotion.[15] In 2017, Rumie won the Google.org Impact Challenge.[16][9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Bringing education to the world's poor children | Toronto Star". thestar.com. 28 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ^ "Rumie Initiative". Archived from the original on 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ^ a b Santus, Rex (20 November 2014). "As Liberian schools remain closed, tablets could become digital classroom". Mashable. Archived from the original on 2017-05-06. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ^ "Ebola: Liberia shuts schools to tackle outbreak". BBC News. 2014-07-30. Archived from the original on 2017-05-28. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ a b Guerrini, Federico. "The Rumie Initiative: Using Tablets As Learning Tools In Ebola-Stricken Communities". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ^ a b "Help Syria's refugee children by assigning them homework". Quartz. Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ^ "Toronto non-profit wants help bringing solar-powered educational tablets to kids in need | Metro Toronto". metronews.ca. Archived from the original on 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ^ a b c Kim, John J.-H.; Migdal, Amram (2016-01-19). "Rumie: Bringing Digital Education to the Underserved". Harvard Business School Case Collections. Archived from the original on 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ a b "Google.org Impact Challenge | Canada". Archived from the original on 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ^ "News Release | Scotiabank". www.scotiabank.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-17. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ^ "This start-up aims to bring education to the world's poor". CNBC. 3 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-07-28. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ "CBC.ca | Metro Morning | Tablets for Liberia". www.cbc.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ "INSEAD" (PDF). INSEAD Entrepreneurship Profile. 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-10-27. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ "Breezometer, Real-Time Air Quality App, Takes Top Prize in Startup Open". PRUnderground. Archived from the original on 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ^ "Library of Congress Literacy Award Winners Announced". The Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ^ "Winners announced in $5M nonprofit challenge from Google Canada". www.newswire.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2017-07-26.