There is a disparity between learners and educators in Nigeria, and Facebook is exploring a technology called ‘Sabee’ to serve women and girls who are greatly impacted.
On September 18th, 2020, the Social Media giant announced it will be opening a new Facebook office in Lagos, Nigeria. The hub, which the company said will become operational in the second quarter of 2021, will staff a team of engineers. According to Facebook, it will be the first office on the African continent.
TechCrunch has spotted one of the first products to emerge from this office. It will be an education-focused mobile app called ‘Sabee’, which, in Nigerian Pidgin, means “to know”. TechCrunch says the app will connect learners and educators in online communities to make educational opportunities more accessible.
‘Sabee’ was briefly published on Google Play Store by Facebook’s Internal R&D group which it calls “NPE Team”. The focus has been on new social experiences in areas like dating, audio, music, video, messaging and more.
‘Sabee’ now has a different focus which is to serve the African continent, starting with Nigeria.
“This is a strategic move, informed by data that indicates a larger majority of the world’s population will be in urban centers by 2030, and much of that will be on the African continent and throughout the Middle East. By 2100, Africa’s population is expected to have tripled, with Nigeria becoming the second-most populated country in the world, behind China.”
Facebook confirmed its plans for Sabee to TechCrunch, noting it was still a small test for the time being.
“There are 50 million learners, but only 2 million educators in Nigeria,” said Facebook Product Lead, Emeka Okafor.
“With this small, early test, we’re hoping to understand how we can help educators build communities that make education available to everyone. We look forward to learning with our early testers, and deciding what to do from there.”
Facebook also wants to explore how to better serve groups who are often left behind by technology. On this front, Sabee is working to create an experience that works with low connectivity, like 2G.
We understand the app is currently in early alpha testing with fewer than 100 testers who are under NDA agreements with Facebook. It’s not available for anyone else beyond that group at present, but the company hopes to scale Sabee to the next stage before the end of the year.
There is no way to sign up for a Sabee waitlist, and the app is no longer public on Google Play. It was available so briefly that it was never ranked on any charts, app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower confirmed to us.
We should note that “sabee” and “sabi/sabis” have other, less-polite meanings in different languages, per Urban Dictionary. But the team has no plans to change the name for now as it makes sense in the Nigerian market where the app is targeted.
