MEST Africa launches Mastercard EdTech fellowship with 12 innovative companies

Twelve innovative companies have been selected for the maiden edition of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship in Ghana.

Powered by MEST Africa, the fellowship seeks to empower promising EdTech companies across the continent to tackle issues affecting communities.

The companies selected for the fellowship include Perbi Cubs, Inspiring Teachers Ghana, Dext Technology Limited, Loozeele Excellence Academy, Ayaprep and Qknow Edtech.

The others are Wonderspaced, DeafCanTalk, Firefly IO, Coral Reef Innovation Hub, eCampus and Alpha Virtual Academy.

The selected companies are involved in a wide range of innovative solutions, including using digital tools to address poor reading skills, developing user-friendly and affordable tools for effective learning of basic STEM education and revolutionalising accessibility to deaf students with assistive technology.

Participants in the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship will receive mentorship from experts in education innovation, sustainability, impact and scale, as well as pedagogical evaluation through course access.

The launch was graced by several dignitaries, with the Minister for Education Dr. Yaw Adutwum and the Osu Mantse, Notse Nii Nortey Owuo IV, in attendance.

Also present were the Executive Director for the Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling (CENDLOS), Nana Gyamfi Adwabuor and UNICEF Deputy Representative, Fiachra McAsey.

The Education Minister emphasised the need to invest in EdTech and said the government was committed to ensuring that kids in every part of the country become more tech-savvy through their education.

The Program Manager at MEST Africa, Angela Duho, also congratulated the selected companies and expressed hope that their learnings from the fellowship would help to transform education in Ghana and increase access to quality and relevant learning through locally developed technology-enabled solutions.