Case Study: Agricolleges International scales affordable, mobile agricultural training for South African farmers with D2L Brightspace

Agricolleges International grows fresh hope for South African agriculture with D2L’s Brightspace platform

Agricolleges International, founded in 2015 by farmers Howard Blight and Wynand Espach, set out to deliver affordable, scalable agricultural education across South Africa and beyond. Facing failing brick-and-mortar colleges, limited funding and infrastructure, low computer literacy, and students’ limited access to PCs, the organization needed a simple, low-cost remote learning approach that preserved essential practical training.

They adopted D2L’s Brightspace — a mobile-friendly, easy-to-use platform — to deliver theory online, remote practicals (students record and submit videos/photos of tasks) and a complementary two‑week on-site practical. Brightspace features (ePortfolios, discussion forums, automated engagement agents and course consultants) helped boost participation; Agricolleges now runs eight courses, had 300+ students with 140 completions in its first year, serves learners from 16 countries, and offers study at roughly a quarter of traditional institutional cost while scaling toward higher accreditation.

Agricolleges International

Wynand Espach

Chief Operating Officer