ZNotes Global Reach: Bridging the Education Gap Over a Decade

“Education is the silver bullet that’s not just transformational for an individual but can change the destiny of a family in a single generation. We know this. But what if we flipped our approach to education so that our youth walked away not just as recipients, but as the amplifiers of impact themselves?”

Ever since ZNotes began, it's main goal has been to make high quality education accessible to all. Ten years later, and we can confidently say the journey has been more than worth it. Having reached 36 million visits to our learning platform and over 5.2 million users in more than 190 countries, ZNotes has become a reliable support system for students around the world. It's impact has gone beyond what we ever expected, and we can't wait to see what the next decade holds!

Our Goal

The discrepancies in educational approaches in different countries and demographics have affected this world in numerous ways. Research at UNESCO evidences “World poverty would be more than halved if everyone completed secondary school” Our mission is to end educational inequality for young people everywhere.

Steps to Achieve Our Mission

Open Personalised Learning Platform

Providing free and unlimited access to high-quality and syllabus-specific educational resources enables students to improve their educational outcomes and their examination results. Across 7 different exam boards, ZNotes covers 130+ unique subjects.  Other platform features include the ability to quiz, track self-efficacy across subjects, and access additional external resources. ZNotes YouTube videos with 1.3+ million views depict the scale of impact & the ‘global reach’ over the years in many different countries.

This tool has aided 91% of the learners to feel more confident for their upcoming exams, demonstrating a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 71. Moreover, in the past decade, ZNotes reached 455k registered users, of which 50k are registered teachers using the ZNotes content.

Peer-Learning Community:

Cultivating a global community of students in a semi-formal online space leads to collaboration and unlocks insights in both academic and social contexts. Students engage asynchronously through chat and synchronously in live events. The resulting impact on academic outcomes is seen in both the students receiving and giving advice. With a Discord community of 43k+ members engaging in peer-to-peer learning, 150+ content contributors and 172 blog articles with student advice published, ZNotes has created an inclusive space for learners of this age.

The peer-to-peer learning community has not only benefited students but also contributors who learn more from the process. Over the years, 91% engaged with individuals from different nationalities, religions, ethnicities or races on the Discord server. 82% affirmed that discussing topics with peers absolutely reinforces their knowledge. Furthermore, peer learning enhances global citizenship, with 4 out of 5 learners improving communication diversity.  This approach has led to the success of ZNotes and has motivated us as an organization to take a step further to reach our goal!

Global Youth-Led Movement:

Empowering young people to be part of global social change while also developing skills and experiences supports them in being accepted for higher education and future careers. The certified programmes range in skillsets required and time commitment but are always virtual, leading to a global network of future social changemakers. This has created a very strong network of individuals wanting to contribute their time and skills towards our mission. Currently, 100 youth are engaged across ZNotes programmes (interns, ambassadors, contributors). ZNotes got 792 applicants tendered for our internships, contribution and ambassador opportunities in 2023, depicting the scale of impact reach.

Community members, contributors, interns, and ambassadors contribute to lasting impact, fostering a sense of global citizenship among learners. Moreover, interns report a 77% improvement in job candidacy while contributors see a 15% increase in the importance of serving marginalized communities. Our network of ambassadors grew to 50 in a single year with 8 schools in our Partner School Network. Lastly, 1 in 5 launched or joined other startups/NGOs tackling a social problem after their internship.  

This solo project is now truly a global student movement!

Partnerships which Catalyse Impact:

ZNotes School Network - Championing the ZNotes social cause in their local communities, our ambassadors initiated conversations with their school leadership to officially join our Partner Network. From Pakistan and China to Uzbekistan, and across the Middle East, these schools foster a shared set of values around learner agency and enabling equity in education by encouraging their students and teachers to both use and contribute to ZNotes.

Launching Green Skills @ COP28 - In partnership with the UN SDSN Global Schools Program, ZNotes identified the need to create awareness among young people with the knowledge of the green transition and the skills they will need in their future work. The project was developed during the 2023 WISE Emerging Leaders program where both organisations were represented in the 2023 cohort.

The solution was presented at the WISE Summit and Expo2030 in Doha, Qatar as well as the Climate Innovation Stage in Dubai during COP28. The development and launch of the Skills component of ZNotes also represent a significant milestone for us as we extend into new content forms and engage with both academic and industry partners.

Awards and Recognitions:

C3 Impact Accelerator: Selected to be part of an award-winning accelerator program in the Education and Skill Development cohort and pitched to impact investors on Demo Day.

Conduit Young Innovator Award Finalist: Selected from 100+ in the inaugural Young Innovator Award for the Education category.

HolonIQ Top 200 Europe EdTech: Included in HolonIQ's annual list of the most promising EdTech startups from the region.

With the excitement in our community for the 10-year anniversary of ZNotes, we remain committed to our goal of reducing educational inequality worldwide. ZNotes' approach will remain unchanged and the impact delivered will grow yearly. Expanding partnerships and launching new programmes will help us get one step closer to our objectives. In addition, we will broaden our network and improve our scale and reach with the assistance of our interns, ambassadors, and contributors. Join us in bringing about this transformation and supporting the UN SDGs!