iHUB Kenya has successfully concluded the acceleration of Cohort 3 of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, marking a major milestone in strengthening the country’s educational technology landscape.
The program culminated in a Demo Day held during iHUB’s EdTech Impact Week in Nairobi, bringing together educators, investors, policymakers, and ecosystem partners to explore how localized solutions are transforming teaching and learning experiences across Kenya.
The graduating cohort consisted of twelve EdTech startups, notably with 75 percent of the ventures led by women founders. This statistic highlights a shared commitment by the program to foster gender equity and inclusive innovation within the education sector. Over the course of the eight-month acceleration period, these startups implemented technology-driven tools in classrooms and communities in parallel with their training. Their work has focused on helping schools personalize learning, enhancing teacher effectiveness, and expanding access for learners in low-connectivity and under-resourced areas.
Nissi Madu, Managing Partner at iHUB, expressed pride in witnessing the practical application of inclusive innovation during the Demo Day. She noted that the heart of the Fellowship is the commitment to ensuring every learner, particularly those in underserved communities, can access technology-enabled learning that opens doors to opportunity. Madu emphasized that the cohort worked tirelessly to refine their solutions and co-design with users to meet real learning needs. As the startups move into the post-program phase, iHUB intends to continue supporting them as they scale their solutions to reach millions of learners and drive lasting improvements in learning outcomes.
Since its inception, the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, implemented by iHUB, has supported a total of 36 EdTech companies. These ventures have collectively reached over 580,000 learners, empowered over 8,800 educators, and engaged 2,000 schools across Kenya. Illustrating the program’s focus on closing gaps in the education ecosystem, the startups have extended access to 2,000 learners with hearing and visual disabilities.
The impact of the program on the ventures was highlighted by the participating founders. Abdinoor Alimahdi, Co-founder and CEO of M-lugha, stated that the Fellowship strengthened their ability to reach learners in marginalized communities. He credited the mentorship and hands-on advisory with helping them refine accessibility features and deepen their understanding of the linguistic needs of early learners, allowing more children to access mother-tongue content that reflects their realities.
Similarly, Rhoda Kingori, Co-Founder and COO of Zydii, noted that the Fellowship fundamentally strengthened how her company supports learners and workers. Through product and go-to-market advisory, Zydii enhanced its mobile-first digital training experience on WhatsApp, making practical skills content easier to access for young people with limited connectivity. Kingori added that they developed new user pathways allowing learners to test content before committing, which has expanded their reach to include learners with disabilities.
The 2025 cohort represents the next frontier of EdTech innovation in Kenya. The graduating startups include AHA Innovate, Cloud School System, Digifunzi, Digiskool, Dignitas, Elimu Shop, iFunza, Infoney Solutions, M-Lugha, Nyansapo AI, Verb Education, and Zydii. Their solutions range from AI-powered adaptive learning platforms that tailor lessons to individual needs, to solar-powered offline classrooms enabling learning in regions without reliable internet.
To ensure these innovations align with national standards, iHUB has developed the EdTech Toolkit for KICD Alignment. This practical guide is designed to help startups navigate the approval process with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, ensuring solutions integrate seamlessly into national education systems.
Looking ahead, iHUB says it will continue to provide the Cohort 3 startups with post-program advisory, mentorship, and access to capital. This ongoing partnership between iHUB and the Mastercard Foundation was born out of a need to build Africa’s EdTech ecosystem and is currently being implemented in eleven other countries across the continent, aimed at solving education challenges through affordable, technology-enabled learning for all.
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