iHUB, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, has selected 12 startups for Cohort 4 of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship in Kenya.
The selected start-ups were chosen across four thematic areas that address some of the most persistent barriers to equitable education: learners living with disabilities, refugees, displaced and underserved communities, and girls and young women. Together, they represent a new generation of innovators designing solutions that make quality education more accessible, inclusive, and relevant for every learner.
Cohort 4 marks a deliberate evolution of the EdTech Fellowship in Kenya, with a renewed focus on founders developing solutions for learners who have been excluded from technology-enabled education. By prioritizing start-ups that address barriers to access and learning for underserved learners, the Fellowship is deepening its commitment to ensuring educational innovation is inclusive by design.
“Innovation has the greatest impact when it begins with the learners who have historically been excluded. Cohort 4 reflects that belief. noted Nissi Madu, Managing Partner at iHUB. These founders are tackling some of the most persistent barriers to equitable education through solutions designed with inclusion at their core. Over the next 18 months, our role is to help them test, refine, and generate evidence for their solutions while building sustainable businesses that can scale their impact. Through this support, we are working to ensure no learner is left behind and that these solutions contribute to more inclusive education systems and Africa’s long-term prosperity
The 12 startups reflect this shared commitment. DEAFHEALTH, AssistiveMath, Signvrse, Deaf Outreach Program, SmartSteamMinds Edtech, and Chipurobo are improving accessibility through assistive technologies, inclusive learning platforms, digital skills, and specialised education solutions for learners living with disabilities. Neurollect Audread, JUZA AI LTD, Ubuntu Universe Limited, and RYEH CBO are expanding access to quality education through multilingual, offline, AI-enabled, and technology-supported learning for refugee, displaced, rural, and underserved communities. Gwiji for Women and Tausi App are equipping girls and young women with entrepreneurial, vocational, and digital skills that strengthen pathways from learning to livelihoods.
Since its launch in Kenya in 2023, the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship has supported 36 EdTech companies. Collectively, these ventures have reached more than 700,000 learners, empowered over 11,000 educators, partnered with more than 2,100 schools nationwide, and extended access to learning for over 6,000 learners with hearing and visual disabilities.
Abdinoor Ali Mahdi, founder of M-Lugha, and 2025 Fellow, reflected on the impact:
“Through the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, we gained the tools, networks, and support needed to strengthen our solution and expand our impact. The program helped us move beyond building technology to creating meaningful learning experiences for 14,000 learners across 35 counties, particularly in underserved communities where access to quality education remains a challenge. M-Lugha has since been downloaded in 130 countries by users seeking to learn their local languages. The Fellowship has shown us the power of investing in local innovators who are building solutions for Africa’s education needs.”
The 12 selected Founders will also gain access to iHUB’s network of ecosystem partners, as well as media readiness and stakeholder engagement support to help refine, validate, and scale their solutions through strategic partnerships and investment opportunities.
“At its best, EdTech does not just digitize education; it redistributes opportunity, and that’s where the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship comes in. The Fellowship sits at the intersection of three powerful forces – education system transformation, inclusive technology-enabled solutions and sustainability of Africa’s EdTech entrepreneurship”, said Wariko Waita, the Director of the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) at the Mastercard Foundation.
While previous cohorts had an eight-month acceleration period and focused on growth-stage companies, cohort four is targeting early-stage start-ups and an 18-month journey. During the period, each start-up will receive up to USD $ 100,000 in equity-free funding, alongside tailored technical assistance across product development, business strategy, communications, and evidence generation through a dedicated pilot framework.
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About iHUB:
iHUB is an innovation hub and tech community center based in Nairobi, Kenya. Our space serves as a nexus point for technologists, entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and changemakers in East Africa, providing a platform for coworking, collaboration, and the development of innovative solutions to global challenges, as well as those unique to the African market. For over 14 years, iHUB has provided in-depth support to over 1,000+ startups across the continent, supporting them to build impactful & sustainable companies. We have also been able to work with corporates, multinationals and governments to co-design innovative intervention programs to support and build the startup ecosystem in Kenya.
Through the acquisition by Co-creation HUB (iHUB), iHUB now has full access to and leverages tools and resources from the parent company, making us the largest creative and innovation ecosystem enabler in Africa. Our role now extends to accelerating the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity across Africa, with support from iHUB’s network of hubs in Nigeria, Rwanda, Namibia, and Togo. For more information on iHUB, please visit www.ihub.co.ke
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.
For more information on the Foundation, please visit www.mastercardfdn.org.
The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship
The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship is an entrepreneurship acceleration program designed to support promising, African EdTech companies. 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 of providing access to technology-enabled, inclusive, quality education to all, especially young people, underserved, under-resourced and marginalized communities.
