The Finder
Practical AI skills, local knowledge, judgment, and service.
SIERRA LEONE
Meet the
Finder.
Practical AI. Community benefit.
A trusted local guide who helps people solve everyday problems using AI and local knowledge.
News · 9 November 2026Agilix Labs has been awarded a grant to use AWS AI and cloud technology through the AWS Education Equity Initiative to support the Finder Program. Read the announcement
and future Finder.
01 / THE HUMAN CONNECTION
Technology has power.
People give it purpose.
A Finder starts by listening, uses AI to explore options, checks what fits the local context, and brings back something useful.
AI
Research, explain,
compare, draft.
Finder
Local context, checks,
and follow-up.
Community
People, knowledge,
and real needs.
Someone to turn to. Practical help for the community.
A role to grow into. Skills, service, and a pathway toward work.
THE IDEA, IN THREE MINUTES
What is a Finder?
See how local knowledge helps turn AI into something useful.
02 / PRACTICAL POSSIBILITIES
Real questions.
Useful next steps.
The work starts with something that matters to the person asking.
THE QUESTION
“What should I consider before the next planting season?”
A FINDER COULD HELP
Explore possible approaches, compare them with local agricultural advice, and prepare clear questions for an agricultural adviser.
A clearer conversation. Better-informed choices.
THE QUESTION
“How can I help more customers understand what I sell?”
A FINDER COULD HELP
Draft product descriptions, explore ways to reach buyers, and adapt the language and message to the market the trader knows.
A useful message, shaped for local customers.
THE QUESTION
“How can I give my students more ways to practice?”
A FINDER COULD HELP
Create draft practice activities and examples. The teacher checks the accuracy, level, and fit for their classroom before using them.
More teaching options, with the teacher in charge.
THE QUESTION
“How can I get a clearer picture of my business?”
A FINDER COULD HELP
Organize records, identify questions about a recurring problem, and compare possible approaches with the owner.
Organized information. A practical place to start.
Illustrative ways a Finder could help. AI suggestions are checked against local knowledge and qualified advice.
03 / HOW THE MODEL WORKS
A person. A program.
A place to grow.
FLI brings the Finder role, the learning, and the local support together.
The learning
The Certificate in Applied AI, built around practice and real community questions.
The center
Computers, connectivity, backup power, and trained Guides.
From learning to doing
Eight courses, six weeks each — about one year in total.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Build foundations
Ask better questions, refine outputs, and check the work.
Apply the skills
Practise on real questions from people and local businesses.
Show your work
Complete community work and present a portfolio.
Learn on a phone with synced lessons available offline. Practise with connected AI tools and Guide support at the center.
FROM THE LEARNING COMMUNITY
A personal promise.
A place to learn.
In this short film, the director of the first FLI center in Kono reflects on his childhood, his commitment to return home, and the learning community he is helping build.
Explore more FLI stories
A story from the early chapter of FLI’s learning center journey.
04 / BUILT WITH THE COMMUNITY
Local support.
A lasting role.
FLI and Agilix have begun this work in Kono with support from traditional leaders. The Applied AI Certificate is designed to keep chiefs and communities involved throughout the learning journey.
A center begins with local agreement. That relationship continues as learners practise, share progress, and return to show how their work has helped.
- 01
Agree locally
Before opening, work with the local chief or their representative and the host institution to agree how the center will serve the community.
- 02
Welcome learners
Introduce learners and the journey they are beginning. Make the expectation of community service clear from the start.
- 03
Return and report
Every six weeks, share progress and discuss community work, with clients’ permission. Listen to what is working and what needs to improve.
- 04
Recognize service
At the public Witnessed Return, learners present their work. The chief or representative recognizes their service and confers the Finder role.
This is the program’s design. Each new center needs its own local agreement. University assessment and certification accompany community recognition.
05 / A SHARED EFFORT
Different strengths.
One local purpose.
Each partner brings something the center needs. The people it serves stay at the heart of the work.
The local center
Learners practise. Finders serve. Communities benefit.
Brings the model together
The Finder pathway, learning design, and support for local delivery.
Provides the learning platform
Agilix Dawn supports course delivery and the people running it.
Gives the center a home
A host, a suitable building, and a connection to the local community.
Helps learners put skills to work
Guides support practice, check progress, and help organize community work.
Help the work take root
Local agreement, introductions, progress conversations, and recognition of service.
Can help the model reach further
Bring partners together and help support centers with local leaders.
Roles describe the model. Government support is an invitation to participate; responsibilities at each new site are agreed with its partners.
06 / TAKING ROOT IN SIERRA LEONE
A foundation
to build on.
Local institutions provide a home for learning. The next step is to help more communities put the model to work.
KONO DISTRICT
OperatingKoidu
The first Community Learning Center is operating, with Kono University of Science and Technology as a partner.
WESTERN AREA
Preparing to openFreetown
The next center at Freetown Polytechnic is preparing to open. The building is complete and staff are hired; equipment and connectivity are being put in place.
Map: OCHA district boundaries. Planned sites indicate intended expansion.
07 / WHAT IT TAKES TO OPEN A CENTER
Build the foundation.
Put it to work.
The space and equipment make practice possible. The team, learning pathway, and local relationships turn it into useful service.
Start with a local host and a suitable building.
An institutional partner and a central, accessible space for overlapping cohorts. Prepare the furniture, safe power, ventilation, and secure equipment storage.
Laptops
Devices for learners to practise, check, and produce useful work, with tracking and maintenance.
Starlink internet
Connectivity for research, AI tools, and supported learning sessions.
Backup power
A diesel generator keeps scheduled learning running when grid power fails.
Trained local team
Local staff, trained and certified on Agilix Dawn before the first cohort.
Agilix Dawn
Synced lessons can be used offline between visits. AI tools need connectivity.
Course library
The Certificate and other micro-courses give people more ways to learn.
Plan for the center’s day-to-day operation.
Agree who will cover staffing, connectivity and platform subscriptions, fuel, maintenance, device replacement, and learner support. Test the systems, prepare the team, and recruit the first cohort.
The purpose is what happens next.
Guided practice → real community questions → checked work → useful service.
TUESDAY10NOVEMBER 2026
YOU ARE INVITED
Community Learning Center
Open House
Join us at Freetown Polytechnic, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Explore the role, discover the learning, and discuss how local partners can help this work grow.
08 / TAKE THE CONVERSATION WITH YOU
Read it. Share it.
Bring others in.
Download the materials for a meeting, or pass them on to someone who could help.
The brochure
Meet the Finder, explore the learning model, and see what a center needs.
PDF · 7 pagesThe briefing
A concise introduction to the role, the pathway, and the work in Sierra Leone.
PDF · 5 pagesThe invitation
An invitation to the November 10 open house at Freetown Polytechnic.
PDF · 1 pageHELP THE NEXT CENTER TAKE ROOT
Bring the right people
to the conversation.
Have a place, a partnership, or support to offer? Talk with us about hosting or supporting a center.
Discuss a center ↗curt.allen@agilix.comHELP ONE LEARNER THROUGH THE YEAR
$480 covers a full year of applied AI for one young person, from the first course to the certificate.
Fund a Finder ↗