This is a submission for the DEV's Worldwide Show and Tell Challenge Presented by Mux
What I Built
BrilliantAfrica2G is a web-based, offline-first AI tutoring platform designed for African students with limited or no internet access. It delivers AI-powered learning through SMS and USSD, enabling students to ask questions, take quizzes, and receive explanations using basic phones.
My Pitch Video
Demo
Here is our Brilliant Africa2G Github Repo
I currently have no demo, but I hope the video explains it all.
The Story Behind It
Many students in rural Africa lack access to smartphones, reliable internet, or modern educational technology (edtech). As a student myself, I believe education quality shouldn’t depend on location or device. After speaking with students in local communities—including my own cousins—I realized some had never even heard of AI due to limited access. BrilliantAfrica2G was built to meet students where they are and make learning more accessible and inclusive.
Technical Highlights
BrilliantAfrica2G is built as a web-based platform with SMS and USSD as the primary user interfaces, ensuring accessibility in low-connectivity environments.
The backend is developed using Django, which handles request routing, user sessions, message state, learning logic, and analytics. Africa’s Talking is integrated to manage inbound and outbound SMS and USSD interactions, enabling real-time communication with users on basic mobile phones.
AI-powered responses are generated using Gemini AI, which processes student questions, explanations, and quiz logic. To support long answers within SMS character limits, the system uses multi-step messaging, allowing responses to be delivered progressively with simple (NEXT) commands.
The platform follows an offline-first design philosophy, prioritizing low bandwidth usage, short request cycles, and graceful handling of unstable networks.
Sensitive credentials such as API keys are securely managed using environment variables, ensuring safe configuration across development and deployment environments.
This architecture allows BrilliantAfrica2G to scale across regions while remaining reliable, secure, and accessible to students with limited devices or connectivity.
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