iHub Kenya, in partnership with the Mastercard
Foundation, recently celebrated the conclusion of the 2023 Mastercard Foundation EdTech
Fellowship with a Demo Day. The Demo Day was held at the Nairobi Museum of Kenya, and was a
chance to showcase the achievements of 12 innovative start-ups transforming education out of Kenya.
The day’s attendees included stakeholders from the government, investors, and other tech ecosystem
players, all of whom were able to witness firsthand the transformative impact of these start-ups on
education in Kenya through their product demos.
The Fellowship, which was first announced in February 2023, went through a rigorous selection
process leading to the selection of 12 start-ups that met the robust criteria outlined by the Mastercard
Foundation and iHub. These start-ups were then inducted into a six-month accelerator program that
started in May 2023 which involved advisory support across learning science, investment, product
development, financial management, and communication strategy among others. The start-ups also
received $100,000 each in funding to help drive the growth and scaling of their businesses.
The Demo Day was an opportunity for the start-ups to highlight their growth in the last six months
while in the program, as well as share their plans with potential investors and customers. The
participating start-ups in the 2023 cohort of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship include:
● Arifu – An interactive learning platform that supports small businesses and job seekers in
Africa.
● MsingiPack – A self-paced learning content offering.
● Kidato Inc – An interactive online learning platform for the entire family.
● FunKe Science – A solution that offers online and offline content that makes science fun and
relatable for African children.
● EasyElimu – An online platform providing K-12 learning content and exam prep for students.
● Ntemata – A learning management system supporting teachers to deliver more efficient
assessments for students.
● Angaza Elimu- An adaptive and interactive platform that leverages technology to improve
access to quality and relevant education on demand.
● Silabu – A platform that connects students with qualified tutors to support their learning
goals, providing an alternative to traditional education.
● Smart Brains Kenya – A Edtech solution focused on empowering schools to independently
provide quality Coding & Robotics lessons in schools.
● Loho Learning – An e-learning platform that delivers personalized and interactive content in
various digital formats to the schooling generation.
● Snapplify- An innovative and e-learning solution that works with students and teachers to roll
out e-learning content and materials.
● Goomzu by Elewa – An education innovation solution focused on supporting teachers,
schools and large training audiences to deliver cost-effective and highly scalable continuous
professional development.
As part of the benefits of the Fellowship, these start-ups will continue to receive post-acceleration
advisory support from iHub over the next 12 months. The Fellowship is part of a broader goal of the
Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning to support the growth of an
impactful African EdTech ecosystem that will catalyze innovation and advance promising practises in
the use of technology in learning and teaching to benefit African learners, education, and EdTech
innovators across the continent.
Overall, the process has been intentional to ensure that the cohort offers a range of solutions covering
digital content, learning management platforms, STEAM education support, workforce and skill
development, tutoring and testing, curriculum-based online learning content, and providing support
for teachers in lesson delivery and assessment.
The call for entries for the next cohort of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship Program
will be open soon to select 2024’s cohort of 12 start-ups as part of the continued three-year partnership
between iHUb and the Foundation.
