Learning Lions trains in three levels. Each one takes a Lion closer to paid digital work: first on the phone they already own, then on a laptop on campus, then in the market. The levels build on each other, and nobody skips one.
The Ladder
| Level | Name | Who it is for | Where and on what | What it ends with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mobile LEAP | Young adults in rural East Africa new to digital work; the learner is an explorer | A training location, on the explorer's own phone | A capstone pitch, a CV and application pack, a portfolio, and a Career Map with evidence from three tracks |
| 2 | BootCamp | The top of each Mobile LEAP cohort; the learner is a trainee | The campus, on a rented laptop | A joint capstone for a client, a packaged offer, a pitch on Pitch Day, and badges in Asha |
| 3 | Advanced Track | Lions who have come through BootCamp | Wherever the work is: freelancing or a partner placement | Paid work, a working portfolio and a place in a partner talent pool |
Level 1: Mobile LEAP
Mobile LEAP is the foundation. It teaches digital literacy, work skills and a first look at digital careers, entirely on the phones the explorers own: seven foundation modules, then three explorations in code and systems, media and design, and content enterprise. Every explorer samples all three; the tracks are pathways, not rankings. The motto is Learning, Earning and Problem-Solving, and every block ends by naming who gets paid for the skill just learned. Read the Mobile LEAP page.
Level 2: BootCamp
BootCamp is for the explorers who did best in Mobile LEAP. It runs on campus, on a laptop each trainee rents, for eight weeks that will probably run to nine. Everyone takes the shared sessions in business, the professions and working with AI; then each trainee follows one of two tracks, Systems, Code and Security or Media and Design. The last two weeks are a joint capstone for a client. Read the BootCamp page.
Level 3: The Advanced Track
The Advanced Track is for Lions who have finished BootCamp and want to refine their freelancing or enter the talent pools of partner organisations. It is guided, mostly self-led work rather than a taught course. Read the Advanced Track page.
How a Lion Moves Up
- From Mobile LEAP to BootCamp. BootCamp takes the top of each Mobile LEAP cohort, roughly the top fifth, chosen on performance through the programme, the mock interview and the capstone. The recommendation stands on evidence: the coaches' Potential Watch-List, one observed line per explorer per session, consolidated into the Career Map at the close of each exploration.
- From BootCamp to the Advanced Track. A Lion who has finished BootCamp, has not done the Advanced Track before, and submits an updated Career Map, portfolio and CV.
- Nobody is promised the next level. Advancement is competitive and rests on evidence, not attendance.
The Thread Through All Three
Three things travel with a Lion from the first session of Mobile LEAP onwards.
- The Career Map is the guide: who I am, my evidence, my direction, my CV and finding work. It starts in Mobile LEAP, travels through BootCamp and the Advanced Track, and is what a Lion updates to apply for the next level. It lives on the hub at darasa.learninglions.org/career-map/.
- Asha is the record: the tasks handed in, the badges earned, and the profile that grows from the first cohort on.
- The Lion's own AI is the coach. The hub holds a coach prompt for every module; the Lion pastes it into the AI they already have. Gemini comes with a Learning Lions Google account. The hub runs no AI of its own.
This hub, darasa.learninglions.org, is the library for all three levels: one page per session, the learner materials, the prompts, and the form to hand work in. How the pieces fit.