Denis Opudo
The global tech revolution is greatly changing the mode of working in every sector. All the way from health to education, the work has been greatly simplified by the use of technology. Many startups in these sectors are using technology to offer services. A good example includes Edutech startups. These startups harmonizing technology and education in offering services. Many edutech firms also utilize tech solutions like a mobile app to offer solutions to various problems.
The startups offer education to the people in Africa. They also improve education access via e-learning and m-learning. Below are ten African edutech startups that have changed the African education sector.
The startup develops mobile-based learning platforms in Kenya and South Africa. Furthermore, the company has played a key role in changing education into M-learning in Africa. The most encouraging part is that a female came up with the startup’s idea.
The Nigerian based e-learning platform gives important content to learners. It does that to both college level and schools through digital devices. The content includes class notes, interactive videos and audios, and past test papers. It offers such content by the use of latest web technologies.
The startup was launched in April 2015 and is based in Cape Town. It offers smart education technology to students, government, and educational institutions. It does that to make education accessible and affordable. It makes sure that a large number gets the required education. It also works to increase the number of successful students in the education sector.
The company offers certified online short courses. It does that in collaboration with leading global educational institutions. This is one of the largest tech startup investments of 2017 in South Africa. 2U a US-based company bought GetSmarter in a $103 million deal. Furthermore, the agreement included an earn-out provision of up to $20 million in cash.
The startup is based in Zimbabwe. It brings peers together through a mobile app. This helps the university students to share ideas, projects, and opportunities. It, therefore, benefit all the participants. This improves learning and building a student like community environment.
The startup is based in Kenya. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) and text messaging to give private accessible education. Primary school student all over Africa are the beneficiaries of the startup.
The startup helps to overcome socio-economic problems, inefficiency and poor infrastructure in the education sector. The startup uses mobile internet devices and computer to offer such services. Rapelang Rabana a South African computer scientist is the founder of the startup. She is also a renowned keynote speaker and an entrepreneur.
The Nigerian based startup connects students with qualified tutors. The tutors come from students’ areas and within their budget. This gives cost-effective education by the use of innovation. Students are taught many skills like playing the piano and sewing clothes. The startup won the Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. The event took place in May 2017 in Nairobi Kenya.
The Tanzanian based startup encourages problem-solving activities. It does that through daily educational cartoon broadcast on national TV. Children answer many questions via free text messages. They then receive replies on their performance through mobile devices.
The startup uses technology by automating school process making teaching more efficient. More than 270 Nigerian schools use the startup. They use it to improve quality of their education.
