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By Dredan Njau,
Africa faces the world’s most urgent learning crisis, and imported solutions cannot solve it. Our classrooms are under-resourced, our teachers overstretched, and millions of children learn best in their mother tongues, yet most tools overlook this reality
In sub-Saharan Africa, the share of out-of-school children fell from 44% in 2000 to 29% in 2020. Yet, 98 million children are still out of school, and approximately 15 million teachers are needed to meet education goals by 2030. Alarmingly, nearly 90% of learners can’t read and understand a simple sentence by age 10.
In Kenya, primary enrollment is at 93%, but only 53% transition to secondary school. Counties like Turkana face extreme classroom overcrowding, with pupil-to-teacher ratios as high as 77:1. In remote and marginalized communities, dropouts are linked to long distances, poverty, and early marriage. During COVID-19, learning was disrupted for over 17 million children. These realities demand solutions that are scalable, locally built, and intentionally inclusive of learners who are furthest behind.
There’s a real gap in inclusion. For decades, the tools shaping African learning have excluded millions of learners in remote and low-connectivity areas, learners with disabilities, and learners who do not speak English or Kiswahili. We have relied on systems designed elsewhere, systems that overlook the cultural, linguistic, and contextual realities of African communities.
This next era of African education must be inclusive by design and homegrown EdTech innovators are best placed to build solutions that understand our languages, our infrastructure gaps, and our learners’ realities. Tides are changing and Africa is already building it right here, in our languages, by our innovators, for our learners.
For instance, the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, implemented by iHUB, is a stellar example of local innovation. To date, the Fellowship has supported 36 startups reaching over 580,000 learners, 8,800 educators, and 2,000 schools, including 2,000 learners with visual or hearing disabilities. These startups are not only reshaping how our children learn, how our educators teach but also pushing the bounds of inclusive learning.
Startups such as M-Lugha Technologies, which delivers literacy in more than 19 indigenous languages, Zydii, provides curriculum-aligned and practical digital training, and Nyansapo AI, which drives foundational learning outcomes through artificial intelligence, are powerful examples of solutions grounded in Africa’s realities.
They are joined by other innovators in the third cohort, including LeadNow and Verb Education in teacher development, Elimu Shop and iFunza in personalized learning, Infoney Solutions in curriculum delivery, Digifunzi with robotics and AI kits for schools, Ahainnovate with solar-powered offline learning systems, and Cloud School System and Digiskool, which streamline school operations and management.
These startups reflect the growing recognition that education is not only carried out in classrooms but through a wide ecosystem stretching from early literacy to career readiness. The cohort also marked another key milestone. 58% of this year’s selected startups are of women-led startups, marking a historic turning point that reflects the growing influence of women in shaping Africa’s education future. This shift is not only a win for gender equity, it’s a major boost for stronger education outcomes across the continent.
The African EdTech movement is no longer emerging– it is maturing, spreading, and being shaped by our own hands. The momentum we are witnessing today is proof that when African innovators are supported, trusted, and funded, they build the solutions that transform classrooms, communities, and the future of work across the continent.
