Co-Creation Hub Nigeria Announces Second Cohort Of 12 New Start-ups Selected For TheMastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship

Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB) today announced the selection of twelve innovative EdTech start-ups to join its second cohort of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship. Launched in 2023, the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship at CcHUB provides industry support and funding to empower start-ups driving change in Africa’s education landscape.

The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship will provide the twelve selected start-ups with a wealth of technical and advisory resources, mentorship, including courses on the science of learning, and access to a global network to help scale their impact. The Fellowship, is designed to support EdTech companies across Africa that are addressing learning challenges across K-12, tertiary education, vocational training and out of school learning.

“After a rigorous application and selection process, we are enthusiastic about the potential of the selected start-ups to enhance the face of EdTech in the region. After the success of cohort I, we are excited about the second cohort’s potential to add to better education outcomes for students in Nigeria,” said Nissi Madu, Managing Partner at CcHUB.

This year’s call for applications for the second cohort received a diverse range of EdTech solution developers from those seeking to improve access to quality education to solutions seeking to enhance learning outcomes through technology-driven approaches.

The twelve Fellows selected for the Mastercard Foundation Edtech Fellowship 2024 cohort at CcHUB are:

1. Topset

Topset is a language learning solution that up-skills native speakers into world-class language teachers by equipping Nigerian language speakers with soft skills, technical skills, lesson plans, gamified tools and access to global paying learners.

2. Exam Scholars

Exam Scholars is a comprehensive testing and learning platform that provides exam simulations, curated content to boost subject knowledge, and enhances students’ speed, accuracy, and preparedness for exams.

3. Data Entry Academy by Accountinghub

Data Entry Academy (DEA) is a virtual academy and community that empowers job seekers, freelancers, and small business owners with fundamental skills to enhance their employability or capacity to work in modern business.

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4. Genti Media

Genti Media focuses on African education and storytelling, amplifying African languages and voices through Genti Audio, an app designed to enhance access and distribution of African educational content in audio form.

5. Edusko

Edusko is a solution designed to drive access to education for students by facilitating the discovery and matching of African kids with the right K-12 schools while providing affordable financing options for parents.

6. Harde Business School Limited

Harde Business School offers in-demand professional development courses through a custom-built online platform that is intuitive, interactive, and gamified, enhancing the learning experience.

7. Magic Lab Academy

Magic Lab Academy is an online learning platform that is on a mission to empower a million Africans with in-demand animation skills, nurturing a new generation of talented animators.

8. Proud African Roots

Proud African Roots combines African storytelling, arts, and media to provide a dynamic, fun and interactive learning experience for children and teenagers through a variety of engaging multimedia contents.

9. Vinsighte Limited

Vinsighte offers an AI-enabled solution that aids the visually impaired to read printed books and educational materials conveniently leveraging OCR and TalkBack accessibility technology to drive accessibility and inclusivity for African learners.

10. IM FLOW

IM Flow empowers learners with tools for personal growth & emotional well-being through its innovative social-emotional learning (SEL) platform that addresses the critical gap in traditional African education by nurturing children’s values, goals, and mindset.

11. WIFICOMBAT

An e-learning tech career platform for Africans, offering customised career pathways for K-12 and tertiary education, as well as job readiness via its personalized career pathways and content recommendations based on learners’ skills and interests.

12. Skill Up With Kahdsole (SUWK)

An innovative learning platform solving the critical issues of youth unemployment and skill gaps by providing accessible, market-driven vocational education and job placement support for young Nigerians.

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The second year of the three-year partnership with CcHUB Nigeria reaffirms the Mastercard Foundation’s long-term commitment to advancing inclusive growth and driving social impact through innovation.

“Our partnership with tech hubs such as Co-creation Hub (CcHub) has increased access to quality and relevant learning for Nigeria’s and Africa’s underserved learners through

home-grown technology-enabled solutions. The EdTech solutions by CcHUB’s 2023 cohort reached 312,000 learners, and we look forward to greater impact this year,” said Joseph Nsengimana, Director for the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning.

By supporting start-ups that are leveraging technology to address the most pressing challenges in education, the Mastercard Foundation aims to deliver improved learning outcomes and a more equitable and accessible learning environment for all in Nigeria and Africa. CcHUB, which provides advisory support ranging from investment, marketing, learning science and product development, also has a strong track record of facilitating impact on the EdTech sector through various initiatives.

Over the next 6 months, the start-ups selected to be accelerated under the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship will be equipped with business and financial support to not only scale their solutions but also strengthen capacity, stronger networks and partnerships towards an impactful future of learning in Africa. In addition the fellows will receive up to USD

$100,000 equity-free funding for their organizations and post-program advisory support for up to twelve months.

For more information about the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship at CC Hubs, kindly visit https://futureoflearning.cchub.africa/

About CcHUB

Co-creation Hub (CcHUB) launched Nigeria’s first open living lab for technologists, entrepreneurs, tech companies, investors and hackers in 2010 to accelerate the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity. The hub has since expanded to include an umbrella of pan-African innovation enablers that includes the CcHUB Design Lab in Rwanda iHub and eLimu in Kenya, Growth Capital by CcHUB and CcHub Syndicate. All CcHUB companies contribute to stimulating innovation and technology application towards achieving social impact across diverse sectors including education, public health, digital security and governance.

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About the Mastercard Foundation

The Mastercard Foundation is a registered Canadian charity and one of the largest foundations in the world. It works with visionary organizations to advance education and financial inclusion to enable young people in Africa and Indigenous youth in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. Established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company, the Foundation is an independent organization separate from the company, with offices in Toronto, Kigali, Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Dakar, and Addis Ababa. Its policies, operations, and program decisions are determined by the Foundation’s Board of Directors and leadership.

For more information on the Mastercard Foundation, please visit www.mastercardfdn.org.

The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship

The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship is an entrepreneurship acceleration program designed to support promising, African EdTech companies. Implemented in partnership with innovation hubs and EdTech accelerators across Africa, the Fellowship provides select EdTech companies with critical business and financial support, as well as insight into the science of learning, preparing them for scale, sustainability, and impact. The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship was launched in 2019 by the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning and supported 12 African EdTech companies from seven countries in its first year, reaching over 800,000 learners. The goal of the Centre is to partner

with 12 Tech Hubs to support over 250 EdTech companies and reach at least 1.8 million young people by 2025.

For more information on the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning, please contact [email protected].