Edtech stands for education technology and so many programs had been developed in this area in recent times across Africa. The advent of COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to the huge number of Edtech startups coming up today since many more people were forced to complete transactions and access services via the internet.  

The dependence on technology, consequent of the pandemic, cuts across different industries and sectors. The education sector is not left behind at all.  Thanks to the technology based education systems provided across Africa, it is now a lot easier for Africans to learn and get educated in various subjects. 

Edtech startups contributed o education by providing immersive education, ensuring that more students focus on their studies. Some Edtech startups provide educational games to students, making learning a lot more exciting.

They also make available distance learning opportunities to students and remove the need to leave the comfort of their homes before they can get educated.  Thanks to the Edtech startups, students can now enjoy customized educational experience.      

Many more Edtech startups are being established frequently, but some of them stand a head taller than others. In this informative piece, we will look into those outstanding Edtech startups that you should consider keeping track of in different parts of Africa. 

Six 33 Four NG

Six33Four NG is the one stop solution for human resource development needs serving the educational needs of pre-university students, undergraduate, post graduate, adult education, career, and corporate training markets.

They offer career training programs, home tutor services, online training, events, sells of project reports, books and teachers resources.

Six33 Four NG also has a question and answer section and users can blog on any subject matter.

uLesson 

uLesson is one of the most popular Edtech start ups in recent times. The outlet has roved itself to be one of the most reliable education programs for students and has assisted so many students across Africa since inception to date.  The company started operations in 2019 and its system is designed to help secondary school students perform better in their studies and examinations.  

The program can be accessed via a mobile device, making it very easy for students of different categories to benefit from the services.  You can access so many tutors on the app depending on the subject area you are interested in.  More than one million persons have downloaded the app since it was first launched.

The Edtech startup is owned by a Nigerian company but its services cover several African countries, including The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana.  There are plans to also extend its relevance to south and east African countries. 

PrepClass

This Edtech startup came to the fore in 2014 and was produced by two Nigerians, Olumide Ogunlana and Chukwuezam Obanor.  The main purpose of the Edtech startup is to find solutions to the shortage of qualified teachers in Nigeria.  The app is designed to link tutors to students so that the students will not have to search to the end of the world before they can get a tutor to handle any subject area they are interested in. 

While the use of the app is free, the students connecting with tutors on the app must pay the tutors for their services.  Students that have challenges solving problems in different subject areas taught in schools can look for a qualified tutor on this app to help them out.  Since inception to date, the app has benefited from investment amount more than $400,000 from Africa Angels and Venture Garden Group.

Kidato

Kidato is a unique Edtech startup originating from Kenya.  The app is created to meet the academic needs of students from nursery schools to secondary schools with the age limit being from 4 to 18 years old.  Students looking for an app providing regular classroom lessons can benefit a lot from this app, same for students searching for tutors providing after-school lessons. 

The app is designed in such a way to give the students the same experience they would; get from a conventional classroom.  The students can also have access to informative field trips organized monthly and there is no restriction to students that can participate so long as they are between the ages of 4 and 18 years.

The startup was established in 2020 and has been able to raise up to $1,525,000 in investment funds. Its services are only focused on students in Kenya.                               

Bridge International Academies

This Edtech startup is set up to assist disadvantaged students and it is based on the Kenyan national curriculum.  The startup offers expansive teacher training using top-notch wireless technology. It also offers a completely free service to children.  

Many more schools have joined up since the app was established, increasing the number of students that are benefiting from it. The service offered by this Edtech startup is not focused on Kenya only but can be accessed by disadvantaged students from different parts of Africa.  

Since inception to date, the startup has amassed up to $27,800,000 in funding, enabling it to spread its tentacle to many more countries in Africa. The educational services offered buy the Edtech startup focus only on primary and secondary school students. 

Spark Schools 

This Edtech startup originated from South Africa. The app is also highly affordable, making it accessible to a lot of people.  It is developed to meet the academic needs of students in elementary schools across the country, it started off in 2012 and has gained a lot of popularity across the country over the years.  The Edtech startup involves a group of private and independent schools in South Africa with a commitment to offer students internationally competitive education.

The Edtech startup has also attracted funding, enabling it to grow even bigger.  There is, however, no specific amount reported by the Edtech startup.  Some of the organizations that have been involved in funding this Edtech startup are Imaginable Futures, Finnfund and Creadev. 

Valenture Institute 

This is yet another Edtech startup in South Africa worthy of a mention.  It can be described as a virtual private high school and it as formed to equip students with the courage, skills and information they need to bring about a considerable improvement in their academic lives and help make their futures more stable.  

The Edtech startup started off in 2019 and has its headquarters in the UK. It, however, operates in South Africa. In 2020, the startup received up to $7 million in funding from GSV Ventures. 

The purpose of the huge funding is to enable the Edtech startup to include more campuses on different parts of south Africa so that more people can benefit from the services offered, including peer involvement, learning coaches and online education.