Overview:
Kaw Academy, a web-based skilled college educating fully in Creole, celebrates its first anniversary on Sept. 2 after serving over 150,000 college students in Haiti and the diaspora. Providing coaching in numerous fields, together with net design, digital advertising and marketing, mission administration and entrepreneurship, the platform turns training into real-world alternatives for Haitians.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Kaw Academy (KAWA), the primary Haitian skilled college and on-line studying platform to function fully in Creole, celebrated its first anniversary Sept. 2, marking a breakthrough 12 months by which it reached greater than 150,000 college students throughout Haiti and its diaspora.
In its first 12 months, the platform has helped college students purchase abilities in digital advertising and marketing, mission administration, mission writing, net design, enterprise administration and extra. Lots of the college attendees have already secured freelance contracts, launched small companies, or obtained worldwide certifications—displaying that on-line training, when taught in Creole, can have fast, tangible impacts on Haitians.
“Discovering www.kawacademy.com gave me entry to the most important Haitian platform providing free training in Creole,” posted pupil Jocelin Mécène on the varsity’s LinkedIn.
“Over 120,000 college students are already enrolled in programs taught by prime professors and professionals. Because of KAWA, I’ve gained many abilities I by no means may have discovered with out this platform.”
The anniversary celebration at El Rancho Resort gathered educators, economists and tech leaders, together with Étzer Émile, founding father of Haiti Efficace; Sterline Civil, director of Haiti’s Nationwide Training Fund (FNE); and Patrick Attié, co-founder of École Supérieure d’Infotronique d’Haïti (ESIH); Marc Marc Alain Boucicault, founding father of Banj; and communications specialist Adassa Guerrier.
Panelists emphasised how combining know-how, language and pedagogy can rework studying into financial alternatives in a rustic the place entry to skilled coaching and job placement stays scarce.
“In only one 12 months, our work has impacted a whole lot of hundreds of individuals,” mentioned Mike Bellot, KAWA’s founder and CEO. “We’ve constructed a neighborhood that makes training in Creole accessible and turns studying into concrete alternatives.”
A imaginative and prescient rooted in expertise, sensible studying and fast outcomes
Bellot, a professor, entrepreneur and economist from Cap-Haïtien, conceived KAWA after being pressured into exile following a 2021 kidnapping. Whereas overseas, he continued educating his Haitian college students through Zoom—a turning level that satisfied him a web-based platform in Creole may democratize entry to training.
Kaw, that means “crow” in Creole, was chosen as an emblem of intelligence and adaptableness. KAWA, Bellot mentioned, goals to assist Haitians acquire “sensible instruments for problem-solving and survival.”
“In only one 12 months, our work has impacted a whole lot of hundreds of individuals. We’ve constructed a neighborhood that makes training in Creole accessible and turns studying into concrete alternatives.”
Mike Bellot, Founder & CEO of Kaw Academy.
International companions like Google and Microsoft again the platform, which employs Haitian professionals comparable to Émile, Boucicault, Marteen Boute, former chief working officer at Digicel Group and mission supervisor specialist Evadie Marie Daniel as instructors. This helps counter the long-standing stereotype that training in Creole is “inferior” to French or English-based programs, a barrier that has traditionally excluded many rural and working-class Haitians.
KAWA’s pedagogy is action-oriented, that includes quick video modules, sensible assignments, and mini-projects designed to construct portfolios that straight result in contracts and jobs. Content material is customized for Haiti’s challenges, together with compressed movies for low-bandwidth connections, audio and transcript alternate options, and step-by-step pathways for first-time digital learners.
“Eighty thousand college students are taking my course on KAWA. This might by no means be potential bodily,” mentioned Émile, whose “Haïti Efficace” consulting firm is among the companions.
By September 2025, the platform was providing 5 skilled diplomas for six,000 gourdes or about $45, designed to match market demand and equip college students with employable abilities.
Social and civic influence
KAWA’s mission extends past coaching. In partnership with IMPACT-E, it presents free entrepreneurship programs to younger folks displaced by gang violence in Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince’s largest slum. Individuals work by means of modules and develop enterprise plans, displaying how digital studying can construct resilience in disaster contexts.
“KAWA’s mannequin integrates know-how and evolution. It offers younger folks concrete instruments to be taught,” mentioned medical doctor Jamessie Rachilde Joseph, also called “Zuzu Lady,” who participates within the initiative.
Eighty thousand college students are taking my course at Kaw Academy. This might by no means be potential bodily.”
Étzer Émile, Economist, Founder & CEO of consulting agency Haïti Efficace.
Such applications straight problem the academic disparities and stereotypes which have lengthy deprived Haitian youth—notably these from marginalized neighborhoods—by proving that Creole-language training could be high-quality, skilled and globally related.
For its second 12 months, KAWA plans to launch a cell app, create studying facilities for low-connectivity areas, broaden course choices, and attain 500,000 learners inside 5 years. Bellot additionally hopes to adapt the platform to serve different Creole-speaking communities throughout the Caribbean.
“Somebody in Les Irois [commune in Haiti’s southwest peninsula] can now be taught mission administration with out touring to Port-au-Prince,” Bellot mentioned.
“The objective is evident: join content material to learners all over the place and switch training into actual alternatives.”