21st November 2024, Accra, Ghana – The city of Accra hosted a Demo Day event organized by MEST Africa in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation for the 2024 EdTech Fellowship.
The gathering celebrated the achievements of fellows from the Fellowship program, shining a spotlight on innovative solutions that have the potential to redefine education across Ghana.
The program’s showcase of its first cohort included:
- Perbi Cubs: An innovative literacy program using engaging digital tools to address poor reading skills among Ghanaian and African children.
- Inspiring Teachers Ghana: A nonprofit helping teachers improve learning outcomes for Ghanaian children by leveraging expertise in teacher training and program development.
- Dext Technology Limited: Developers of innovative, user-friendly, and affordable tools for effective STEM education.
- Loozeele Excellence Academy: Pioneers of STEM-focused early childhood education in the Upper East region, offering comprehensive learning experiences at an accessible cost.
- Ayaprep: An educational application that teaches mathematics in local Ghanaian languages, enhancing accessibility and inclusivity in learning.
- Qknow Edtech: Democratizes education by offering quality learning resources and personalized tutoring, utilizing technology and educator expertise.
- Wonderspaced: An educational content creation, publishing, and distribution platform promoting critical thinking, creativity, and literacy through interactive content.
- DeafCanTalk: Revolutionizes accessibility for Deaf students with assistive technology, removing communication barriers and enabling inclusive education.
- Firefly IO: Pioneers hands-on STEAM and Robotics education, fostering curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
- Coral Reef Innovation Hub: Prepares students for the future workforce through AI, content development, and EdTech services.
- eCampus: Revolutionizes learning with technology-driven solutions, facilitating smarter studying, employability, and prosperity for a billion learners worldwide.
- Alpha Virtual Academy: A comprehensive digital learning platform for K-9 schools in Ghana, featuring interactive modules, assessments, teacher training, and administrative tools.
Highlights From The Event
The event opened with a welcome from the organizers, including Sharj Shah, Head of Partnerships and Thought Leadership at the Mastercard Foundation.
He highlighted the significance of empowering the next generation of African entrepreneurs in the education technology space.
Rodwell Mangisi, the Acting Director of the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning also gave his remarks:
“At the Mastercard Foundation, we are intentional about building demand-driven EdTech innovations that close the gap in access and quality to provide relevant learning for the most underserved. So far, 140 EdTech companies have been accelerated since the Fellowship kicked off in 2020.
Through our ongoing partnership with MEST Africa, we hope that the next iteration of Fellows from Ghana will prioritize relevance, access, and sustainability for greater impact. While technology makes life easier for us all, it makes everything possible for those without access and opens pathways for them to learn and prosper,”.
Fireside Chats: Stories of Passion and Resilience
One of the standout moments of the day was the fireside chats with select fellows including Dext, Perbi Cubs, and Firefly IO. These sessions offered attendees a glimpse into the challenges and triumphs experienced during their journeys as EdTech fellows.
The fellows shared personal anecdotes, lessons learned, and insights into how they developed scalable solutions to address pressing issues in education, from access and affordability to teacher empowerment and student engagement.
A Montage of Success: Fellows in Action
Another event highlight was video montages that featured several fellows in their elements. From classroom trials to tech labs, the video chronicled the fellows’ creative problem-solving efforts and their impact on learners, educators, and communities.
Applications Open for the Next Cohort
MEST Africa announced the opening of applications for the 2nd EdTech Fellowship Cohort program’s next cohort near the event’s tail end.
Aspiring African entrepreneurs passionate about transforming education through technology are encouraged to apply. With access to mentorship and a collaborative network, the program promises to nurture groundbreaking ideas that address the continent’s educational challenges.
Closing Remarks: A Call to Action
The event concluded with remarks from the program’s organizers.
“If you were going to change the lives of a population, this program is going to make a systematic change in the next 5 years on how Ghana does education,” said Olufemi Adewumi, Programs Director, MEST Africa.
Mr Adewumi thanked all the partners including Mastercard Foundation and the Ghana Education system for their system for helping with the EdTech Fellowship.
