AN INTERVIEW WITH OUR ALUMNUS: Simon Sällström
Simon is a World Bank Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE Youth) advisory group member and holds an MPhil in economics. After graduating from Oxford in July 2022, Simon founded DirectEd Development, a company dedicated to bridging the global skills gap by enabling investments in the workforce.
DirectEd are building a platform that will enable investors to fund workforce training for students in Africa. They are currently focusing on digital skills training in Kenya and Ethiopia for remote tech jobs with companies in the US and Europe.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CAREER AFTER GRADUATING.
I took an unconventional route after graduating by starting a non-profit organisation, and I've never regretted this decision. The freedom, autonomy, and growth opportunities have been unrivalled.
The experiences I've had over the past two and a half years have been incredible. From negotiating and securing a partnership with a leading university in Addis Ababa, to being highlighted on Times Square, meeting with a Kenyan government minister and an interview on Kenyan national TV! I've also learned to build a strong work culture and manage a globally distributed, multinational team of volunteers, at one point comprising members from nine different nationalities.
Simply put, I’ve gotten a taste for entrepreneurship and I plan to stay on this path for quite some time. Once I have become tired of this, I might then return to my original plan of doing a PhD.
How did DirectEd Development get started?
DirectEd started when I saw a grant opportunity, back in 2021, between my first and second year of the MPhil. At the time, claims about how blockchain could help low-income countries were thrown around. I wanted to test one of them so I applied for a grant to build a proof of concept where we would facilitate direct donations for education via blockchain. These donations would support students’ university education in Kenya and Ethiopia and also address the lack of transparency in charitable donations. However, the project soon evolved as we realised that the core challenge was not transparency, but rather how we use the money.
"From now until 2030, [Africa] is projected to expand the size of its workforce by more than the rest of the world combined, as its young population enters the world of work" (Weforum). It is hard to understate the importance of Africa in the next 50 years and, by extension, the skills of its young people.
However, there is a market failure in both education and labour markets globally and in Africa. While, 77% of employers struggle to fill positions, youth unemployment remains high, with a global average of 14% according to the ILO. In Kenya, the 2020 National Bureau of Statistics reported an unemployment rate exceeding 30% for the 20-29 age group.
DirectEd Development aims to address this issue, focusing specifically on software development. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated remote work, and with about 65% of Africa now having high-speed internet (up from 19% five years ago), this is increasingly feasible. To illustrate the potential of this: if 3000 software engineers can earn $3000 per month working remotely then that constitutes roughly 0.1% of Kenyan GDP.
We realised that by providing laptops, guidance, and structure, we could level the playing field. Therefore, we put together a course utilising the best freely available content online, combined with masterclasses with industry experts and apprenticeships with companies in the US and Europe, enabling students to start remote tech careers right after high school.
What aspects of your degree have been useful in your career?
My degree gave me a strong evidence-driven approach to work. One of the things I realised was that in the charitable space, you don't have a paying customer whose problem you are solving. Instead, you have one person who you're helping and then another person who is paying for the problem to be solved. As a result, market forces and competition will not naturally lead to the selection and survival of more efficient charities. So instead, you must use random controlled trials to prove that the charity outputs are positively changing people's lives.
My background in economic history may also have contributed to choosing job-focused education as the focus of DirectEd. I recognised that our work achieves some crucial elements observed in catch-up economic growth: knowledge and capital transfer facilitating an export industry.
A crucial feature of our model is that we do not charge students upfront. Instead, students share a percentage of their future earnings for a set number of years. This model is effective because it's challenging to predict who will be successful, but those who are will generate enough returns to cover costs for others. This addresses the fundamental issue of capital-constrained individuals with high potential but uncertain outcomes. Our long-term vision includes expanding this model to other areas, such as training medical professionals or supporting international labour migration.
Another thing I learned from studying development economics was about adoption. Just because you started an initiative that you think is great – you cannot assume that everyone will embrace it. This insight drove us to invest heavily in communicating the value of our programme to all stakeholders.
Lastly, understanding a basic framework of human behaviour in terms of incentives and constraints has been instrumental in shaping our program. For instance, we incorporated insights from research on present bias by offering cash prizes to balance short-term study efforts with immediate rewards.
What did you most enjoy about your time studying economics at Oxford?
I would say that I really enjoyed the overall intellectual environment. You end up in a variety of unexpected conversations, and you learn a lot from the people you meet here. Everyone has their different specialities and niche knowledge.
I remember a friend and I attended the Queen's Commemoration Ball. As we were taking a break from the dance floor, we ended up in a deep conversation about the state of the global economy, the future of work, and international development… or something like that. No one shies away from having esoteric or nerdy conversations. It's always a privilege to learn new things from the people you meet.
What’s your next goal – where do you want to take your career and DirectEd Development?
Currently, we are fundraising from aligned investors, primarily so-called business angels in the UK. To date, we have been operating off grants and our own revenue with most team members working part-time alongside other jobs.
Despite our very limited resources, we have trained more than 250 students. A few of them have done very well and are now working remotely with companies building software. With the evidence that this works, we are now ready to scale this. In the next two years, we are aiming to expand to 5 more countries in Africa and to train 40,000 future leaders of African tech per year by 2030.
Do you have any advice for someone considering an MPhil at the Oxford Department of Economics?
If you come from a background similar to mine, without an undergraduate degree from a top UK or US university, I'd suggest delving deeper into econometrics and game theory. Additional preparation can provide you with a foundation you're comfortable and familiar with before starting the course.
Can you name three things you value most about your time at Oxford?
Collaboration - I appreciated the, the collaborative nature of our cohort. It was tough during Covid. The first year at least was mostly online. But at the end of the day, there was still a sense of wanting to work together. For example, we wrote a course summary handbook to help each other prepare for exams.
Tradition - I enjoyed some of the traditional Oxford experiences such as formal dinners and getting dressed up. You get way more opportunities to wear your suits and nice shoes!
Nature - I really appreciate Oxford's closeness to nature. There is South Park, University Parks, Aston's Eyot, and Port Meadow. It’s great that it's so accessible and close.
Any final words you’d like to share?
If you find found this interesting or inspiring then I’d love to hear from you. We are always on the lookout for advisors and people who align with our mission. I am also more than happy to provide guidance to people who are considering doing something similar.
Instagram: Impact Founder Journey
