Global IT company Hewlett-Packard (HP) has rolled out a technology incubation and entrepreneurship training hub dubbed HP LIFE Center in South Africa.
HP LIFE Center is a technology-enabled hub constructed to facilitate learning, collaboration, and entrepreneurship in a physical, face-to-face setting.
According to a statement released by HP, over 100,000 learners from across Africa will benefit from the new project over the next three years.
The initiative is being implemented by HP Foundation’s HP LIFE Program.
The HP LIFE Center was opened in South Africa (SA) on November 30, 2018.
On this project, the multination IT company is collaborating with institutions such as the Ekurhuleni West TVET College in Katlehong and its Centre of Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator.
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Built on the belief that entrepreneurs are the backbone of the global economy, HP LIFE offers 30 free, online courses focused on business and IT skills – from business planning and marketing, to raising capital and design thinking.
To date, HP LIFE has reached 744,000 learners in 200 countries and territories.
All users need is a computer and Internet connection to access HP LIFE. The new physical center in South Africa will create a more formal educational environment.
HP LIFE has an enrollment goal of 1 million users between 2016 and 2025.
“Africa is experiencing rapid urbanization and digitization—and it’s essential that people have access to learn skills for the work of tomorrow. This new HP LIFE Center provides a launchpad for innovation and opportunity across the continent,” Nate Hurst, Chief Sustainability and Social Impact Officer at HP, said in a statement.
At the World Economic Forum’s 48th Annual Meeting in January, Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF) and HP Foundation announced a new 3D printing course to be delivered through the HP LIFE platform.
3D printing will fundamentally change the manufacturing industry.
$4 to 6 trillion (USD) of the global economy will be disrupted in the next five to 10 years, shifting economic value and jobs across the globe.
This new course is helping individuals to learn how to use 3D printing and create entrepreneurial opportunities.
In 2017, at the Global Citizen Festival in Hamburg, Germany, HP announced a commitment to enabling better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025.
And through HP Life Center, the company hopes to fulfill its objectives set under the HP’s broader Sustainable Impact strategy, which aims at using the expertise of HP to drive positive, lasting change for the planet, its people and the communities where “we live, work and do business.”
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