Africa’s edtech landscape has come a long way from its roots in e-learning. With AI rapidly reshaping industries worldwide, the sector is poised for another transformative leap.
The growing adoption of mobile applications across industries helped lay the groundwork for the continent’s edtech sector, fostering an ecosystem that continues to drive innovation and growth.
The most successful edtech solutions in Africa are those designed with local realities in mind, addressing challenges such as device accessibility, connectivity costs and differing levels of digital literacy among both learners and educators.
Today, edtech in Africa encompasses a wide range of solutions, many of which are mobile-first.
Rather than relying solely on smartphones, these platforms are designed with local contexts in mind, addressing users’ needs and operating within existing infrastructural constraints.
Against this backdrop, Ghana’s The ShowMe App has emerged as a homegrown learning and community-building platform, enabling experts, educators and event hosts to connect, teach and engage in ways that reflect Africa’s unique infrastructural realities.
Founded by Josh Abbey in 2025, the social learning platform bridges talent between the US and Africa. Abbey oversees editorial direction, partnerships and the tech behind the platform.
Connecting Africa Associate Editor Matshepo Sehloho spoke to Abbey to gain more insights into the company’s work.
Matshepo Sehloho (MS): What inspired you to start The ShowMe App, and what gap in Ghana’s education system were you trying to address?
Josh Abbey (JA): Growing up in Ghana, I realized that some of the most valuable knowledge does not only come from classrooms. It also comes from teachers, professionals, entrepreneurs, artisans, mentors and experienced people within our communities.
However, there has never been a simple and organized way for these people to share their knowledge, build learning communities and remain connected with the people they teach.
I started The ShowMe App to help close that gap, and the goal was to create a platform where people can easily teach, learn, share resources, organize activities and build meaningful communities around knowledge.
Although education was one of the strongest inspirations behind The ShowMe App, the vision has grown beyond traditional schooling.
We are building a community-driven platform where schools, educators, creators, businesses, organizations and skilled individuals can create digital spaces to educate, support and engage their communities.
MS: How does The ShowMe App improve learning outcomes for students compared to traditional teaching methods?
JA: Traditional education is often one-directional. A teacher presents information, and then students take notes, complete an assessment and then move on.
The ShowMe App makes learning more interactive, continuous, and community driven.
Students can join dedicated communities, which we call Compounds, where they can access learning resources, participate in discussions, ask questions, attend events, receive updates and connect with teachers, mentors and other learners.
This allows learning to continue beyond the classroom and instead of only consuming information, students can actively participate, collaborate and learn at their own pace.
Our goal is not to replace traditional education but to strengthen it by giving students and educators a space where learning can remain active, practical and engaging.
MS: What have been the biggest challenges in building and scaling an edtech startup in Ghana, and how have you overcome them?
JA: One of the biggest challenges has been building for a market where access to reliable Internet, smartphones, digital payments and technology varies greatly.
Another challenge is user adoption, as people may understand the problem but still need time to trust and become comfortable with a new digital platform.
There is also the challenge of building something that is powerful without making it complicated. A platform may have many useful features, but if the experience is confusing, people will not use it consistently.
We have responded to these challenges by focusing on simplicity, mobile accessibility, user feedback and continuous improvement.
We built The ShowMe App step by step, testing ideas, listening to users and improving the platform based on how people actually use it.
As a founder based in the United States and building for Ghana and Africa, I have also had to be intentional about staying connected to the realities of the people we are building for.
That means listening carefully and not assuming that a solution that works elsewhere will automatically work in Africa.
MS: How do you ensure that The ShowMe App remains accessible to students in underserved or low-connectivity areas?
JA: Accessibility is a major part of how we think about the platform. The ShowMe App was designed as a mobile-first platform because smartphones are the main way many people across Africa access the Internet.
We are also focused on keeping the user experience simple, reducing unnecessary steps, improving loading speeds, and making content easy to access on different devices.
As the platform grows, we plan to invest further in low-data features, content optimization, local caching and offline-friendly experiences that will allow users to continue accessing important information even when Internet connectivity is unstable.
Accessibility also means affordability. We want The ShowMe App to provide opportunities for free communities, affordable learning spaces and flexible models that allow schools, educators and organizations to reach more people without requiring expensive infrastructure.
MS: How has user feedback from students, teachers and parents influenced the development of The ShowMe App’s products and services?
JA: User feedback has played a major role in shaping The ShowMe App.
Early conversations showed us that people did not only want a place to upload lessons or educational materials. They wanted a space where they could communicate, ask questions, share updates, organize events, access resources and feel like they were part of an active community.
That feedback helped us move beyond the idea of a basic learning platform.
It influenced the development of Compounds, which allows users to create focused communities around schools, subjects, businesses, organizations, skills, interests and professional areas.
We have also learned that simplicity matters. Users want powerful features, but they do not want a platform that feels difficult to understand.
This has encouraged us to continue improving our onboarding experience, navigation, content discovery, recommendations, notifications and overall user experience.
The ShowMe App enables experts, educators and event hosts to connect and teach. (Source: The ShowMe App)
MS: AI is reshaping education globally. How is The ShowMe App leveraging AI, and what opportunities or risks do you see in its adoption?
JA: We see AI as an assistant that can make learning and community management more effective.
Our long-term vision is to use AI to help users discover relevant communities, resources, discussions, events and learning opportunities based on their interests and goals.
AI can also help summarize learning materials, answer questions, recommend content, personalize learning experiences and support community leaders in managing their Compounds.
For teachers and creators, AI may help them organize content, generate lesson ideas, identify frequently asked questions and better understand what their members need.
The biggest opportunity is accessibility. AI can make quality guidance and personalized support available to people who may not have direct access to tutors, mentors, or specialized teachers.
The risk is that people may rely on AI without verifying information or thinking critically. There are also concerns about misinformation, bias, privacy and the inappropriate use of student data.
For that reason, we believe AI should support human expertise rather than replace it. Responsible AI must be transparent, privacy-conscious and designed to encourage critical thinking.
MS: What metrics do you use to measure The ShowMe App’s impact, and what achievements are you most proud of so far?
JA: We believe impact should be measured by more than app downloads and some of the most important metrics for us include active users, active Compounds, user retention, learner participation, content engagement, meaningful discussions, event attendance, resources shared and the number of people who gain value from a community.
We also want to measure how many educators, creators, businesses, and organizations are able to build and sustain communities through the platform.
One achievement I am especially proud of is taking The ShowMe App from an idea and turning it into a working platform with a clear vision and growing potential.
Building technology is difficult, especially when you are trying to solve a broad social problem. Every completed feature, every piece of feedback and every person who understands the vision represents progress.
I am also proud that The ShowMe App has evolved into something larger than the original idea. It is becoming a platform that can support education, entrepreneurship, community development, professional networking and knowledge sharing.
MS: What role do you see technology playing in transforming education across Africa over the next decade?
JA: I believe technology will completely expand how education is delivered and experienced across Africa.
It will make learning more flexible, personalized, practical and accessible. A student will no longer be limited only by the school they attend, the location they live in, or the resources available in their immediate environment.
Technology can connect learners with teachers, mentors, professionals and opportunities from anywhere in the world.
However, technology should not replace teachers. It should empower them.
Teachers will be able to reach more students, organize learning materials, monitor participation, communicate with parents and build stronger learning communities.
I also believe technology will help Africa preserve and share local knowledge. Our communities have valuable cultural, professional and practical knowledge that is often not documented or formally taught. Digital platforms can help preserve that knowledge and pass it on to future generations.
MS: What advice would you give to young African entrepreneurs looking to build startups that solve social challenges?
JA: Start with a real problem, not just an exciting technology, and spend time speaking with the people affected by the problem.
Understand how they currently solve it, what frustrates them, what they can afford, and what would make them trust a new solution.
Build something simple first. You do not need to create the perfect product before allowing people to use it.
Launch, learn, listen and improve.
African entrepreneurs should also avoid copying solutions from other markets without adapting them to local realities. Africa has different infrastructure, cultures, payment systems, languages and user behaviors.
Most importantly, be patient and remain focused.
Building a startup can be emotionally and financially difficult. There will be moments when progress feels slow, but meaningful companies are rarely built overnight.
Find people who believe in the mission, stay close to your users and continue improving the solution.
MS: Looking ahead, what is your vision for The ShowMe App, and how do you hope it will shape the future of learning in Ghana and beyond?
JA: Our vision is for The ShowMe App to become Africa’s leading platform for community-driven learning, knowledge sharing and meaningful connection.
We want anyone with knowledge, a skill, an audience or a community to have the ability to create a digital Compound.
A school could create a Compound for students and parents. A teacher could create one around a subject. A business could educate customers and build a loyal community. A professional could mentor young people. A nonprofit could organize volunteers and resources. A creator could teach and engage followers.
We want The ShowMe App to make knowledge more accessible and communities more connected.
In Ghana and across Africa, we hope the platform will help reduce the distance between people who have valuable knowledge and people who need it.
Long term, we want The ShowMe App to become a place where people do not only consume content but actively learn, contribute, collaborate and grow together.
MS: If you could change one thing about Africa’s education system today, what would it be and why?
JA: I would make education more connected to practical life.
Too often, students are taught to memorize information mainly for examinations. However, the modern world requires problem-solving, creativity, communication, collaboration, digital skills, entrepreneurship and the ability to continue learning.
I would like to see an education system where students are exposed to practical experiences, mentors, real-world projects, businesses, technology and career opportunities from an early stage.
Education should not only prepare students to pass exams. It should prepare them to identify problems, create solutions, adapt to change, and contribute meaningfully to their communities.
That is also part of the vision behind The ShowMe App: helping to create a future where learning does not end when someone leaves the classroom.
