The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship has reached 676,145 learners in Nigeria, with 84% of beneficiaries being children and youth, the primary focus of expanding quality education access.
On May 27, the third cohort of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, announced by CcHUB, showcased a growing commitment to gender diversity and inclusion within Africa’s innovation ecosystem. Impressively, 50% of the startups in this cohort are led by women, continuing to challenge the gender gap in technology and entrepreneurship.
This year’s fellowship highlights the power of inclusive innovation, featuring an equal split of male and female founders who are developing cutting-edge solutions to transform education in Nigeria and across the continent. The startups’ diverse approaches address critical education gaps—from AI-powered learning platforms and digital financial literacy tools to virtual science labs reaching rural classrooms without internet access. Many of these innovations, led by women founders, exemplify the Fellowship’s vision for scalable, future-ready learning solutions across Africa.
“As we welcome our third cohort, we are thrilled by the innovative and high-impact solutions these startups are bringing forward. This year’s selection was more competitive than ever, reflecting our focus on ventures addressing critical gaps in Africa’s education landscape. Our aim is to equip young people with the skills needed to thrive and lead in a rapidly evolving world. These startups are bold steps toward shaping the future of learning and long-term prosperity across the continent.”
-Nissi Madu, Managing Partner, CcHUB
Since its inception, the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship has reached 676,145 learners in Nigeria, with 84% of beneficiaries being children and youth, the primary focus of expanding quality education access. Additionally, 53% of the learners are female, reinforcing the program’s dedication to gender inclusion.
“The CcHUB and Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship has been instrumental in our growth. It provided resources and insights that helped us tailor our app to better meet user needs, making educational content more accessible and engaging for children and families worldwide. The Fellowship also deepened our understanding of user safety and privacy, essential to our mission.”
-Louisa Olafuyi, Co-founder, Kunda Kids (a Cohort 1 startup)
“With the Fellowship’s support, we closed our $1.1 million pre-seed round, rebranded to Lingawa, and laid the groundwork for our best sales performance yet. The program helped us build a stronger team and connected us to an inspiring network of founders. We’re excited to see how the new Cohort 3 will continue to transform education in Nigeria.”-Frank Williams, CEO, Lingawa
Following a rigorous screening process, CcHUB selected 12 startups for the 2025 Cohort 3, marking another important milestone in Africa’s EdTech landscape. The 12 startups selected for the 2025 Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship Cohort 3 are AI Teacha, Blue and Sand, Cloudnotte, FlexiSAF (Distinction), HiPrep Online, I-Train Africa, Kryptr, Mavis Computel, Smart Steward Academy, Tespire, Sproutly Inc., and VarsityScape.
“Accelerate solutions that serve even those out-of-school young people who are constantly left out of the education ecosystem. it is when we design with the end user in mind that the business case for the solution is more scalable, sustainable and impactful.”
-Rodwell Mangisi, the Acting Director at the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning
Over the next 6 months, CcHUB will support the 2025 cohort in their efforts to not only scale their solutions but also build capacity and stronger networks and partnerships while also remodelling their innovations for better impact on the future of learning in Africa.
In addition to advisory and mentoring sessions with a pool of subject matter experts, the Fellows will also receive up to $100,000 in non-equity grants and continued advisory support for an additional 12 months upon completion of the accelerator program.
The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship aims to support EdTech companies across Africa that address learning challenges in 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 enrolment, quality and availability of effective educational options for the continent’s young population.