Co-creation HUB Announces Call for Applications for Cohort III of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship

November 20, 2024. Lagos, Nigeria: Co-creation HUB (CcHUB), in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, is calling for applications for the third iteration of the EdTech Fellowship after the successful completion of the second cohort’s acceleration program.

High-potential EdTech ventures across Nigeria are encouraged to apply for the opportunity to be part of the next iteration of the Fellowship, which aims to make education and learning more inclusive by using technology as an enabler. The third cohort will kick off in 2025.

In 2024, the 12 Nigerian start-ups received essential business and financial non-equity support and insights into the science of learning. They reached 11,341 new learners, with over 90 percent of the impact on young people, directly aligning with the program’s goal to provide access to quality education to the most underserved learners in the country and the region.

The 2024 cohort’s success was displayed during the Demo Day event, where the entrepreneurs showcased their EdTech-based solutions to the country’s learning ecosystem. The Fellows demonstrated the impact of their businesses on learning outcomes and connected with potential investors, partners, and stakeholders. Their solutions range from learning management systems to STEM learning tools, foundational literacy and teacher skilling speaking to the needs of Nigeria’s education ecosystem.

“Over the past six months, these start-ups have dedicated themselves to refining their solutions, with a clear focus on enhancing learning experiences and driving improved learning outcomes. Through active engagement with key stakeholders—ranging from government officials and educators to students, young people, parents, and schools—they’ve gathered invaluable feedback to fine-tune their offerings. We are thrilled to see them present their upgraded solutions during Demo Day and are confident in the transformative impact these innovations will have in the months and years ahead. We are also excited to see how various stakeholders will collaborate with these companies to scale these impactful solutions, ultimately reaching millions of learners across Nigeria,” said Nissi Madu, Managing Partner, Co-creation HUB.

“The Mastercard EdTech Fellowship gave Harde Business School a clear pathway to better understand and optimize our product. The comprehensive support from the CcHUB Team has also helped with the development of our App based EdTech solution, which is scheduled for launch in January 2025.” – Dami Oguntunde, CEO, Harde Business School.

“Previously leveraging various offline and digital platforms to reach audiences, Proud African Roots has now launched its own digital platform, the ‘Grandma Wura Hub’ app, through support from the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship. This new app offers improved, high-quality educational content specially designed for children, connecting them to African culture and values.” – Bola Edwards, Founder, Proud African Roots.

Rodwell Mangisi, the Acting Director at the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning, said, “The testimonies by the Fellows are the reason why we are intentional about building demand-driven EdTech innovations that close the gap in access and quality, to provide relevant learning for the most underserved. So far, 140 EdTech companies have been accelerated since the Fellowship kicked off in 2020. Through our ongoing partnership with Co-creation HUB Nigeria, our hope is that the next iteration will prioritize relevance, access, and sustainability for greater impact. While technology makes life easier for us all, it makes everything possible for those without access and opens pathways for them to learn and prosper.”

Participants of the third cohort of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship will receive:

1. Exposure to a vibrant network of investors.
2. Coaching and mentoring by successful founders and experts.
3. Expert advisory from experts across learning science, product development, marketing, sales, and talent Management.
4. Access to a community of practice to test out products.
5. Network with other founders building amazing solutions in EdTech.
6. Access to up to USD100k non-equity grant.

Interested EdTech start-ups can apply by visiting futureoflearning.cchub.africa before the application deadline on the 31^st, January 2025.

About CcHUB

Co-creation HUB (CcHUB) launched Nigeria’s first open living lab for technologists, entrepreneurs, tech companies, investors and hackers in 2010 to accelerate the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity. The hub has since expanded to include an umbrella of pan-African innovation enablers that includes the CcHUB Design Lab in Rwanda iHub and eLimu in Kenya, Growth Capital by CcHUB and CcHub Syndicate.  All CcHUB companies contribute to stimulating innovation and technology application towards achieving social impact across diverse sectors including education, public health, digital security and governance.

Media contact: comms@cchub.africa

About The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship

The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship is an entrepreneurship acceleration program designed to support promising, African EdTech ventures. Implemented in partnership with innovation hubs and EdTech accelerators across Africa, the Fellowship provides select EdTech companies with critical business and financial support, as well as insight into the science of learning, preparing them for scale, sustainability, and impact. The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship was launched in 2019 by the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning with the goal to partner with 12 Tech Hubs to support over 250 EdTech companies and reach at least 1.8 million young people by 2025.

Media Contact: jbiira@mastercardfdn.org

About the Mastercard Foundation

The Mastercard Foundation is a registered Canadian charity and one of the largest foundations in the world. It works with visionary organizations to advance education and financial inclusion to enable young people in Africa and Indigenous youth in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. Established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company, the Foundation is an independent organization separate from the company, with offices in Toronto, Kigali, Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Dakar, and Addis Ababa. Its policies, operations, and program decisions are determined by the Foundation’s Board of Directors and leadership.

Learn More about the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning