Six African innovators transforming education with AI

Across Africa, six innovators are deploying artificial intelligence to personalise learning, simplify scholarship discovery, expand educational access and equip millions with the skills needed to thrive in an AI-driven economy, writes ANOZIE EGOLE

A new generation of education technology developers across Africa is harnessing artificial intelligence to tackle challenges beyond classroom learning, from tailored tutoring and curriculum support to scholarship opportunities, admission guidance and AI literacy.

The common thread is not simply the use of AI; rather, it is the attempt to apply the technology to specific points of friction in the education journey.

Below are six innovators using AI to make education easier.

Dacod Magagula

South African entrepreneur Dacod Magagula co-founded FoondaMate, an AI-enabled study assistant designed for platforms students already use, including WhatsApp and Messenger. The platform allows students to ask academic questions, request explanations and access study materials through a conversational interface.

The company uses machine learning, natural language processing and large language models to make interactions more natural and useful, providing learners with a convenient way to seek academic assistance outside traditional classroom settings.

Its scale is significant. Meta reported that FoondaMate had reached millions of students, primarily across markets including South Africa, Zimbabwe and Nigeria, and that users had asked the platform more than 100 million questions. Meta also reported company claims of improved university eligibility among South African students using the platform.

Magagula’s work illustrates an important principle in African EdTech: sophisticated technology does not always require a new consumer habit. By integrating AI into familiar messaging platforms, FoondaMate reduces the need for students to learn entirely new systems. This approach could be particularly useful in communities where mobile messaging is already an established means of communication.

The model also demonstrates how education technology developers can expand access by adapting existing digital habits to learning needs. Rather than making expensive devices or specialised applications a prerequisite, the platform brings academic support closer to students through tools they already understand.

Shabnam Aggarwal

At Rising Academies, education technology leader Shabnam Aggarwal has helped advance Rori, an AI-powered mathematics tutor delivered through WhatsApp. Rather than functioning simply as an answer engine, Rori is designed around structured tutoring, guided practice and feedback.

The project stands out because Rising has attempted to measure learning outcomes instead of relying solely on the number of students using the platform or the frequency of their interactions.

An eight-month evaluation involving about 1,000 students across 11 schools in Ghana found that students receiving two 30-minute Rori sessions each week alongside regular instruction improved their mathematics performance by 0.36 standard deviations relative to the control group. A larger randomised trial is now being conducted across 100 public schools in Ghana.

These findings highlight the potential of AI-assisted learning to supplement conventional teaching, particularly where teachers have limited time to provide individual attention to every pupil. Students can practise mathematical concepts, receive feedback and work through difficulties at their own pace.

Aggarwal’s work reflects a broader shift in AI education, moving beyond engagement metrics and asking whether the technology produces measurable learning gains. The emphasis on evaluation is important as schools and policymakers consider whether AI-based tools should become part of mainstream education.

Ahmed Ogundimu

For Nigerian product leader and education technology entrepreneur Ahmed Ogundimu, an important education problem begins before the lesson itself. Students must first determine where to study, which opportunities they qualify for and what steps they need to take next.

Ogundimu founded NGScholars, which has operated since 2013 as an education platform covering admissions, scholarships, examinations and academic opportunities. Analytics reviewed for the platform show substantial reach over more than a decade, reflecting the demand for information that helps students make important educational decisions.

NGScholars recorded about 2.7 million visits in 2013, more than 900,000 visits in a single peak month during its early growth, and approximately 783,000 users since 2021, with Google search representing its largest source of traffic. Student accounts available for independent verification also show users relying on NGScholars to identify admission and scholarship opportunities across countries including Nigeria, Germany, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Ogundimu is now extending that foundation, applying product management principles and AI-assisted tools to help students discover relevant opportunities, organise and track their options, and make better-informed admissions and scholarship decisions.

The approach addresses a challenge that can be overlooked in discussions about educational technology. Even when students have access to learning materials, uncertainty about admission requirements, funding opportunities and application procedures can prevent them from progressing.

By improving the way information is organised and presented, AI-assisted services could help learners identify suitable options and manage the steps involved in pursuing them. His work reflects a different application of AI in education: not simply helping students learn, but helping them navigate the increasingly complex decisions that determine where and how they study.

Claire Mongeau

Claire Mongeau, founder of Kenya-based M-Shule, approached AI-powered learning with a different constraint. What if the student does not have a smartphone or reliable internet access?

M-Shule developed an adaptive learning platform that uses artificial intelligence to personalise educational content delivered through SMS. The system analyses student responses and adjusts subsequent material based on individual performance, allowing learners to receive content suited to their progress.

That approach allows adaptive learning to operate on basic mobile phones rather than assuming broadband access or expensive devices. It offers an alternative for students whose access to digital education is constrained by connectivity, equipment costs or limited technological infrastructure.

Mongeau’s work highlights a central lesson for African EdTech. The most useful AI product is not necessarily the one with the most sophisticated interface. In many markets, the more important innovation is making advanced technology work within the infrastructure learners already have.

This principle is especially relevant across communities where access to reliable internet remains uneven. Technology designed around the needs of better-connected learners may exclude those who could benefit significantly from additional educational support.

By using SMS as a delivery channel, M-Shule demonstrates how developers can adapt technological solutions to local realities. It also underscores the importance of considering affordability and accessibility when designing digital education products for diverse populations.

Isaac Oladipupo

Nigerian entrepreneur Isaac Oladipupo, co-founder of Afrilearn, has focused on applying personalisation to curriculum-based learning.

Afrilearn provides digital education through video lessons, class notes, practice exercises, examination preparation and AI-assisted learning tools aligned with African curricula. The company says it has reached more than four million learners, and its platform includes more than 500,000 gamified quizzes and solutions, tens of thousands of lesson notes, and thousands of video and audio lessons.

That scale matters because personalisation becomes more valuable as the number and diversity of learners increase. Digital systems can potentially identify when a student needs another explanation, more practice or more advanced material, helping learners engage with educational content according to their individual needs.

The platform’s combination of different learning resources also provides students with alternatives for understanding difficult subjects. A learner struggling with a topic may revisit a video lesson, review class notes or attempt additional questions to reinforce understanding.

Oladipupo’s work also emphasises localisation. General-purpose AI may understand mathematics or science, but formal education is shaped by national curricula, examinations and specific learning requirements.

Afrilearn’s approach combines adaptive technology with content designed for the education systems its students are actually navigating. This alignment is important because learning tools must reflect what pupils are expected to understand and the standards against which their performance will be assessed.

By bringing together curriculum-based materials and AI-assisted support, Afrilearn illustrates how African education technology companies can tailor digital learning to the requirements of local schools and examinations.

Adewale Yusuf

Nigerian entrepreneur Adewale Yusuf, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of AltSchool Africa, is focused on a different question: who will know how to use AI effectively in the first place?

AltSchool launched AI for 10M Africans, an initiative aimed at introducing millions of people across the continent to artificial intelligence and its practical applications. The broader goal is not simply to give people access to AI tools, but to help them understand how to use them productively, evaluate outputs and apply them to work and problem-solving.

That effort reflects an emerging workforce challenge. As AI tools become more widely available, access alone may not be enough to ensure that individuals and businesses benefit from the technology. Users also need the skills to assess the accuracy of generated information, recognise limitations and apply the tools appropriately.

As generative AI becomes embedded in software development, research, writing and business analysis, AI literacy is becoming a form of digital literacy. Understanding how to interact with these systems could help workers improve productivity, develop new capabilities and adapt to changing workplace requirements.

For students and young professionals, such knowledge may also create opportunities to participate in emerging technology-driven industries. However, the benefits will depend partly on whether training initiatives can reach people across different educational and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Yusuf’s work positions education not only as something AI can improve, but also as the mechanism through which more Africans can participate meaningfully in the AI economy. By promoting practical understanding of the technology, the initiative addresses the need to prepare people not merely to use AI, but to apply it responsibly and effectively.

Conclusion

These six innovators are solving different problems: tutoring, personalisation, access, education discovery and AI literacy. What connects them is not a single technology, but a shared effort to apply artificial intelligence to specific points of friction in African education. The next wave of African EdTech will likely be defined less by who has access to the most powerful model and more by who can turn those models into products that fit local realities, improve decisions and produce measurable outcomes.