In September 2020, HolonIQ announced our first annual Africa EdTech 50 — a list of the 50 most innovative education technology startups across Sub-Saharan Africa.
There are an estimated 226 million young people between the ages of 15-24 living in Africa, representing nearly 20% of Africa’s population, and making up one-fifth of the world’s youth. Educating Africa’s youth is a major focus for every country and remains a key challenge for many geographies. At the same time, there are thousands of African EdTech entrepreneurs working across all parts of the sector to support teachers, schools, students and parents for greater access to education and impact from learning.
The HolonIQ Africa EdTech 50 recognizes the most innovative and impactful EdTech teams working in Sub-Saharan Africa and it’s not surprising to see a focus on provision of access to learning through content and resources, language and literacy as well as organizations whose focus is to amplify the work of teachers, schools and institutions. Tech upskilling also features throughout, from K12 coding to adult IT skills and jobs.
Sector & Country
EdTech startups with a focus on the K12 sector dominates the 2020 Africa EdTech 50, which is perhaps not surprising given the scale of youth and size of this market in Africa.
In terms of country headquarters, the larger economies of South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, and Ethiopia provide the greatest number of EdTech startups, with teams also represented from Sierra Leone and Mauritius.
