[Wednesday 31st May 2023—Lagos, Nigeria] 

Co-Creation Hub has today announced 12 startups that will make up the first cohort of its Mastercard Foundation Ed-Tech Fellowship Program in Nigeria. The program which was first announced in February 2023 has gone through a rigorous selection process over the last 3 months to arrive at a group of startups that meet the robust criteria outlined by the Mastercard Foundation and CcHUB.

Following this detailed and thorough process, the  Mastercard Foundation in partnership with CcHUB is excited to announce the startups that have been selected for the 2023 cohort.

• EduTAM – A multi-tenant cloud-based school management system for basic and tertiary schools with a focus on API-based connectivity and interoperability of learners’ data for large education systems.
• 9ijakids – An online platform creating exciting learning experiences to help children fall in love with learning using games.
• Gradely – A solution that empowers parents and schools with a toolbox to provide personalized learning of the standard exams curriculum through interactive videos, an extensive practice test bank, and live tutoring.
• Money Africa – A platform that provides financial literacy education for adults and children through digital content, personalized advisory, and an online community.
• NKENNE – An African language learning app for Africans on the continent and in the diaspora with a focus on the context of African culture, tonality, and building social communities.
• Davtonlearn – A SaaS learning management system for corporate organizations to onboard and train their staff in line with each company’s corporate objectives and workforce goals.
• Qataloog – An online curator of curriculum-relevant content for learners across various levels and disciplines in K-12, tertiary, and TVET education.
• SabiTeach – An online learning platform that seamlessly connects learners with qualified teachers for private sessions while also providing tutoring services for special needs children.
• Schoolinka – A digital platform improving the pipeline of quality educators by upskilling teachers and accelerating top teaching talent to improve the standard of education in Africa.
• Go2Course – An ed-tech solution that provides a comprehensive virtual school platform for creators and students to connect and learn.
• Kunda Kids Ltd – An Edtech App that provides a collection of African-inspired stories and language learning content for children
• Schoola  – A learning platform for K-12 schools that offers gamification and tools for fun, engaging, and interactive lesson preparation.

The fellowship is part of a broader goal of the Mastercard Foundation under its Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning to support the growth of an impactful African EdTech ecosystem that will catalyze innovation and advance promising practices in the use of technology in learning and teaching to benefit African learners, education and ed-tech innovators across the continent. Overall the process has been designed to ensure that the cohort offers a mix of solutions that address key issues in the EdTech space. The 12 selected startups address a wide range of issues including digital content, learning management platforms, workforce and skill, STEAM education support, Tutoring and Testing, and online learning content. 

As part of its drive for inclusion and gender balance, CcHUB and the Mastercard Foundation were intentional about reaching out to female-led startups, which has ensured that 9 of the selected 12 startups have female founders and management personnel. All selected startups will receive funding and advisory services towards scaling their current operations for further impact in Nigeria and beyond. The program, which officially kicked off today in Lagos, will include a 6-month accelerator phase, delivered by the CcHUB team with continued advisory support over another 12 months.

The partnership is part of the broader Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship Program, which seeks to support EdTech companies across Africa that are addressing learning challenges across K-12, tertiary education, and vocational training. The expectation is that these solutions will be part of the urgent and critical response in addressing many of Africa’s long-standing challenges that have affected enrollment, quality, and availability of effective educational options for the continent’s young population.