The Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently announced that 24 educational technology (edtech) startups in Kenya and Nigeria have joined the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship program, which promotes “technology in learning and teaching to benefit learners, education and edtech innovators across the continent” of Africa. The Kenyan inductees are listed at: https://www.edugab.com/kenya/ihub-selects-12-edtech-startups-for-mastercard-edtech-fellowship-programme/, and the Nigerian ones are listed at https://cchub.africa/cchub-announces-its-2023-nigerian-cohort-for-the-mastercard-foundation-edtech-fellowship-program/.
The program provides funding as well as “skills development, coaching and mentorship, bespoke market research, and market access” to help the participating edtechs address challenges such as boosting product quality and acquiring industry certifications. The primary phase of the program lasts for seven months, with “light touch” support continuing for an unspecified period thereafter.
The foundation previously accepted 12 edtechs into a cohort in South Africa, and additional application windows are scheduled to open beginning in late 2023 for rounds of the program to take place in 2024.
The goal of the Mastercard Foundation is “to advance education and financial inclusion to catalyze prosperity in developing countries and to support Indigenous youth in Canada.” The foundation reports having disbursed USD 1 billion during 2021, ending the year with total assets of USD 31 billion. The organization was established in 2006 with a donation from the US-based financial services corporation Mastercard.
By Elva Montelongo, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Sources
Mastercard Foundation press release
https://mastercardfdn.org/all/centre-for-innovative-teaching-and-learning-in-ict/2023-nigerian-and-kenyan-cohort-for-the-mastercard-foundation-edtech-fellowship-program/
Mastercard EdTech Fellowship – South Africa program description
https://www.injini.africa/mastercardfdnedtechfellowship
Mastercard Foundation homepage
https://mastercardfdn.org/
Mastercard Foundation financials
https://mastercardfdn.org/financials/
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