Twelve local education technology startups have secured Ksh 15.3 million each to fine-tune their solutions and scale them to improve learning outcomes in Kenya.
Through the Edtech Fellowship Programme by MasterCard Foundation and iHub, a local incubator, the solutions target to equip learners with relevant and quality education through the use of technology.
During a demonstration event of the selected tech firms, MasterCard Foundation Lead for Strategic Partnership Suraj Shah said the programme is expected to reach at least 2 million learners by 2026.
Already, MasterCard Foundation has rolled out two such fellowships in South Africa through Injini and Nigeria through CoCreation incubation hubs.
“Each hub will have 12 tech edtech companies with innovative ideas to help them build their business skills, grow as a company, fine-tune solutions to ensure the science of learning is embedded in the solutions and help them scale to reach wider number of students,” said Suraj.
With the Ksh 183.6 million funding, the startups have undergone acceleration programme where they have gotten expert support on the solutions, talent and distribution to ensure the solution improve learning outcomes for learners in the country.
“For us, the biggest focus is that these solutions actually lead to improving learning outcomes. We won’t improve learning outcomes if we are not adopting the science of learning and how the products themselves are designed. So that is one of the access that they have,” said Nissi Madu, iHub Managing Partner.
The programme which also targets to ensure learners are equipped with relevant skills for the future will see the two organizations develop an edtech ecosystem developing local solutions that can be adopted by policymakers to improve learning.
The startups that have benefited in the first cohort include FunKE Science, LoHo Learning, Angaza Elimu, Snapplify, Arifu, Easy Elimu, Elewa, Kidato, Ntemata, Silabu, Smart Brains Kenya, and Virtual Essence.
MasterCard Foundation plans to empower 12 tech hubs across Africa to reach 250 edtech companies in Africa within three years in order to improve learning outcomes in the continent.
