LEARNING IS LIT
Learning is transformation.
Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow."
​It was 2020. The world had stopped. And for most organisations, survival was the only agenda.
But African banking giant, Absa Group, made a different choice. A bold, transformative one:
They doubled down on their people's development, choosing to turn disruption into transformation.
Learning Is Transformation - LIT - was born.
What started as a week-long platform for colleagues across Absa to learn, grow, and engage at the height of disruption, became something far more profound: a movement that would fundamentally shift how an entire organisation thinks about learning.
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The first learning week was electric. Thousands of colleagues across multiple countries
didn't just participate, they lit up.
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Because in a world that felt uncertain and overwhelming, Absa was saying:
"Your growth matters. Your future matters. You matter."
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But one week wasn't enough. Over four more iterations, LIT evolved from an event to an eagerly anticipated pulse point. With registrations soaring past 13,000 and engagement climbing year
after year, something profound was happening: learning was becoming institutionalised at Absa.
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By the fifth learning week, LIT had become a seismic shift in how learning is conceived and experienced. It became a catalyst for embracing digital agency, unlocking personal mastery,
and launching lifelong journeys of continuous innovation. The message had shifted from
"learning to survive" to "learning to thrive" to something even bolder:
human-centric learning as the ultimate superpower.
FIVE YEARS.
FIVE TRANSFORMATION.
ONE UNSTOPPABLE REVOLUTION.
What began as a response to crisis became Absa's secret weapon for the future. LIT changed who Absa colleagues became. The innovative format, featuring inspirational speakers and compelling content, inspired and galvanised them to pushed harder, dig deeper, and reach higher.
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Learning moved from a compliance checkbox to a personal calling. From a one-size-fits-all model to hyper-personalised journeys that energised a culture of perpetual growth and transformation.
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From surviving disruption, to thriving though it.
OUR IMPACT
Over
13,000 Absa colleagues
across Africa actively leaned into curated learning opportunities
9,000 touchpoint engagements
sparked dialogue, reflection,
and momentum
A new, reimagined culture
of learning – one that
is empowering
35,000 people across
the Group
to grow, unlock their highest potential, and embrace learning not as an event, but as a way of being – and becoming
LIT demonstrated the power of learning as a future-fit business strategy. Across the Group, colleagues are not waiting for the future to arrive – or be defined for them. They’re building it
with clarity, agency, and the conviction that learning is personal, and perpetual.