How Belgian biometric company Semlex supports education throughout the world

Founded in 1992, Semlex is a Belgian company specializing in developing, integrating, operational managing, and supplying biometric identification systems used for various aspects of population identification. The company advises and supports governments in the fields of biometric identification and numerical security. Their work spans multiple continents, providing reliable identification systems and highly protected official documents.

Semlex’s range of solutions

Semlex offers a complete range of tailor-made identification solutions adapted to infrastructures and systems available on the territory, including through BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) and PPP (Public-Private Partnership). As a pioneer in identification solutions, they have been involved in securing every aspect of the population identification process. These include partnering with Ivory Coast to implement the National Register of Natural Persons (RNPP). Their products include Cards, Passports, Visas, Deeds, Certificates and Diplomas, Civil Registry Systems, Biometric identification, and Track And Trace Systems.

In 2020, Semlex defined its values as integrity, trust and respect, quality and excellence, and respect for the environment. These values play an essential role in the construction of their corporate culture. The company’s work in technologies and focus on identification systems, which are essential to access social services, including education, provided an opportunity to give back to the communities where they operate.

Semlex has always been interested in supporting education. They have financed primary classes in partner countries such as the Comoros and the Ivory Coast, and have also supported professional educational projects for the homeless in Belgium.. In order to increase its impact, Semlex decided to launch Semlex For Education to finance promising educational projects and provide operational and logistical follow-up.

Semlex for education foundation

The Foundation aims to reduce socioeconomic inequalities around the world by funding and supporting the most promising academic and vocational educational projects. The projects supported by Semlex For Education are often located in the same regions where Semlex operates. For instance, several supported projects are in Africa, where Semlex has a significant business presence. In Guinea Bissau, where Semlex operates through its subsidiary, only 35% of children between the ages of seven and fourteen attend primary school, and less than half of them complete their primary education. To address this issue, Semlex Guinea-Bissau and Semlex For Education provided partial funding for school supplies that were needed by the Educar Safim Evangelical School in Bissau

Educational projects in Africa

In the Comoros Islands, the lack of access to clean water has consequences on children’s education due to the spread of diseases linked to contamination and the time spent collecting water. In such cases, investment in water and sanitation contributes to economic growth. Thus, Semlex For Education financed 100% of the installation of a solar water pumping and treatment station in collaboration with Estia Synergie and
Sotrad Water.In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Semlex For Education financed an elementary school library and is currently discussing with the local authorities to set up an extra-curricular system to reduce illiteracy, raise environmental awareness.

In DRC, Semlex For Education supports the Joseph Mbeka Mako Foundation, a non- profit NGO established in 2015 by the children of the late Ambassador and Vice-Minister Mbeka Makosso Joseph. The Mbeka Foundation aims to break the vicious cycle of poverty gripping the country by providing quality training to Congolese youth and encouraging them to become entrepreneurs.

In Gambia, Semlex For Education supports Afrodidact, a Belgian non-profit organization founded in 2006 to provide quality education for all through its innovative pedagogical method. It set up a school in the Gambia, The Swallow, which the Gambian Ministry of Education highly appreciates. Afrodidact initiated the KUBO project to ensure every child has the opportunity to acquire digital skills. This project offers a digital platform for schools, automating administrative processes, providing educational content, and allowing secure offline connectivity for faculty and students with data storage capabilities.

Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The start of the school year has been particularly difficult in West and Central African countries, where many students have seen their right to education threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic management. Togo and Benin saw their schools and universities closed for nearly 7 months. To this effect, Semlex For Education supported B2Help, an organization that aims to provide personal protective equipment to various schools and universities in Togo and Benin to facilitate their reopening and ensure access to quality education for all.

Belgium-focused educational initiatives

Closer to home, Semlex For Education has been involved in several projects covering various aspects of education and socioeconomic development in Belgium. The projects focus on multiple aspects of education and knowledge.Partners in Belgium include The St. Jean Foundation, founded in 1991 to assist in reintegrating young children hospitalized in the Children’s Psychiatric Ward at the Clinic St. Jean, located in the heart of Brussels.

The St. Jean Foundation aims to support young children in profound psychological distress through participation in activities and
help those who do not have the financial means to benefit from basic medical care. To collect student experiences and make the voices of young people heard in the education system, Semlex For Education supported Teach for Belgium, an NGO created in 2013 that trains and supports people committed to teaching in the most disadvantaged schools in the country.

Thanks to the support of Semlex For Education, Teach for Belgium collected these voices and expanded their reach by creating a
series of videos that are used on all of their social media platforms and their website. Another partner is EnneaBoost, established in 2019, based on the expertise and experience acquired within the Halin Premont Enneagram Institute.

EnneaBoost and other initiatives

The Enneagram is a deep personality model that allows us to see ourselves functioning, to understand better and to accept ourselves. In addition, EnneaBoost offers young people an effective and innovative system which combines several models and approaches. EnneaBoost also
organizes interactive conferences for parents and young people to help them open a dialogue about orientation and ask themselves the right questions.

Other supported initiatives include Team4Job (T4J), which offers a 6-month mentoring program that puts job seekers (mentees) in contact with a professionally active person (mentor) to boost their job search. They meet at least twice a month at the mentor’s place of work to share the
mentor’s experience, network, and knowledge of the workplace for the benefit of the mentee. Thanks to the support provided by Semlex For Education, T4J creates and integrates workshops dedicated to self-knowledge in order to help mentees mobilize
their best resources.

Semlex For Education’s Ongoing Commitment

Semlex For Education will continue to support educational projects and work in collaboration with Semlex subsidiaries to create an environment conducive to the learning and development of young people, an uplifting example of a European company impacting the world through
philanthropy.

Also Read: Matric results: Countries with non-mother tongue education