Africa has the world’s youngest population, with 70% of its 1,5-billion population under 30 years old – but, in the sub-Saharan region only, 98-million children are currently out-of-school.
Meanwhile, another 72-million young people, aged from 15 to 24, are neither trained nor employed. Two-thirds of these are women.
A new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), titled “Boosting education technology in Africa: scaling innovation for the future of education”, explores how digital solutions can address the main challenges faced by the African school system: a pressing question, as over 1-billion children will be living on the continent by 2055.
Digital to fast-track education
Technology can strengthen education at all levels, starting from early childhood to adult training. The BCG analysis indicates, through multiple examples, the different ways in which digital solutions can be more inclusive, as they deliver scalable, cost-effective means to reach all populations.
For instance, Sayna, a Malagasy provider of gamified courses in tech skills, connects its learners to lucrative IT micro-tasks. Another case is that of the Kenyan platform Eneza Education, which has hit 5-million users living in remote areas through basic phones, improving exam scores by 5%.
“These statistics could grow, should Africa’s digitalisation expand,” says Badr Choufari, education, employment and welfare lead, as well as MD and partner at BCG Casablanca. ”Projections are encouraging: mobile penetration is expected to reach 51% in 2025, which is quite impressive, as it was only 3% in 2010.”
Edtech needs a boost
Technology seems to be Africa’s most powerful tool for promoting education. However, three different challenges are looming.
First of all, even though more than 400 edtech start-ups have developed throughout the continent, half of them are located in only three countries – Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.
Moreover, some segments need reinforcement. Around 64% of edtech startups in Africa serve K-12 levels, while fewer address higher education and professional skills. In contrast, North American edtech startups emphasise workforce training and higher education more heavily, with only about 25% focusing on K-12, about 50% targeting vocational and workforce learning, and the remainder 25% serving higher education.
Last but not least, funding remains a major issue, as edtech accounts for only 4% of African-tech fundraising. Startup development is impaired: between 2010 and 2021, the gap in the creation of new edtech startups widened by a factor of seven relative to fintech and doubled compared to agtech.
“Not to mention that, despite the sector’s potential, more than 70% of edtech companies are founded by men, highlighting a significant gender gap in leadership,” adds Choufari.
The BCG reports also underlines the fact that this slow progression is further compounded by the dominance of very early-stage start-ups: more than half of African edtech startups are at the pre-seed stage. Only 13% reach the seed stage. The landscape is very different in countries like India or the US that benefit from a more balanced distribution across funding stages.
Scaling edtech in Africa
However, Africa’s edtech sector has the capacity to improve its scaling results, based on sufficient funding, but also on efficient policies and collaborative networks.
The report emphasises several key levers to unlock Africa’s edtech potential:
- Government vision and policy: domestic strategies, such as active sourcing, technology grants and subsidies, could generate a hospitable environment encouraging edtech’s expansion. Rwanda’s ICT policy should set an example: it aims to extend connectivity nationwide, thus integrating digital tools to classrooms, reinforcing teacher training and spreading student access to programmes. Though fairly recent, its impact can already be measured.
- Business and users’ alignment: both organisations and users should understand their mutual requirements in order for edtech solutions to be tailored to meet needs on both ends. To that extent, developers and entrepreneurs can get inspiration from a platform like SkillsFuture Singapore that matches workforce demands with education outputs.
- Increased funding: Development finance institutions (DFIs) have supported African fintech startups. Similar initiatives could foster the rise of edtech companies, as well as public-private partnerships, donor programmes or venture capital. All of these could in turn create professional openings.
- Pan-African accelerators: Africa has very few accelerators dedicated to edtech, among which are Injini or iHub. But increasing mentorship, funding, and networking efforts could promote cross-border growth.