Co-creation HUB (CcHUB), Nigeria’s first innovation centre and technology hub, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation has selected 12 Nigerian startups for the fourth cohort of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship. The fellowship is an 18-month accelerator programme that supports early-stage education technology companies building solutions for learners.
Each startup will receive up to $100,000 in equity-free funding, alongside structured technical assistance across product development, communications and business strategy, according to the company.
The latest cohort continues the Fellowship’s focus on backing African EdTech startups, but this year’s intake, the hub noted, focuses on founders tackling barriers to education for learners with disabilities, internally displaced persons (IDPs), underserved and rural communities, girls and young women, as well as startups building education and workforce data systems.
“Cohort 4 was designed around the belief that the most important decisions about inclusion are made at the earliest stages of innovation,” said Nissi Madu, managing partner at CcHUB.
“This cohort represents founders who are building with this understanding at the core of their solutions. Our role is to help them test, refine, and generate evidence for their solutions while building sustainable businesses that can scale their impact.”
The 12 startups span four thematic focus areas. According to the hub, selected startups are grouped across four focus areas. TrainDTrainer Ltd, Talktu, DAWN AI STUDY and Efiwe are developing solutions for learners with disabilities, while Ileemore Technologies Limited, Skillup Africa and Lena are expanding access to education in underserved, rural and displacement-affected communities.
Heels and Tech, NursePadi, Skilladder AI and Lalitah are focused on improving participation, skills development and economic opportunities for girls and young women, while Ribara Analytica is building data infrastructure to strengthen education planning and improve pathways from learning to employment.
The Fellowship also provides founders with media readiness support and stakeholder engagement infrastructure to help increase the visibility of their work among partners, funders and the communities they serve.
“At its best, EdTech does not just digitize education; it redistributes opportunity, and that’s where the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship comes in,” said Wariko Waita, the Director of the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) at the Mastercard Foundation. “The Fellowship sits at the intersection of three powerful forces – education system transformation, inclusive technology-enabled solutions and sustainability of Africa’s EdTech entrepreneurship.”
Launched in 2019, the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship noted that it has supported 72 companies across Africa, collectively reaching more than 700,000 new learners, 89% of whom are children and young people.
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