- Co-creation HUB, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, concluded the acceleration of the 2025 EdTech Fellowship cohort with a Demo Day showcasing 12 startups that collectively reached over 21,000 learners, engaged 7,000 educators, and supported 500 schools across Nigeria.
- The cohort demonstrated strong collaboration through shared innovation and in-cohort partnerships, while solutions like AI Teacha, Cloudnotte, and Mavis Talking Book advanced inclusive, technology-driven learning models for marginalized communities and rural areas.
- Now in its third cohort, the Fellowship has supported 36 African EdTech startups since inception, driving systemic education transformation through AI integration, strategic partnerships, and evidence-based innovation to scale impact across the continent.
Co-creation HUB (CcHUB), in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, has completed the acceleration of the 2025 EdTech Fellowship cohort with a Demo Day that brought together innovators, policymakers, investors, and ecosystem partners committed to shaping the future of learning in Nigeria.
The event served as a platform for the twelve participating startups to demonstrate their products, share evidence of their progress, and explore pathways to scale through strategic partnerships and investment.
The 2025 cohort of 12 startups including AI Teacha, BlueSands Academy, Cloudnotte, Tespire, Kryptr, Smart Stewards, hiPrep, Varsityscape, Mavis Computel, FlexiSAF, I-Train Africa, and Sproutly collectively reached over 21,000 new learners, 90% of whom are children and youth, with 55% female representation.
They have also engaged 7,000 educators and supported over 500 schools across Nigeria, including rural and semi-urban communities. Together, they have established collaborations with government agencies, corporate partners, and international organizations advancing learning equity.
A defining hallmark of Cohort 3 was the depth of collaboration that emerged organically among the startups; a shift from siloed execution to shared innovation. Rather than reinventing the wheel, founders leaned into one another’s strengths, tools, and platforms to accelerate their growth.
This collaborative spirit was further strengthened during Founders Connect, a first-of-its-kind gathering hosted by CcHUB that brought together all 36 startups across three cohorts. The session created an intentional space for peer learning, co-creation, and community building, while also serving as the foundation for an emerging Alumni Network that founders unanimously endorsed as essential for long-term engagement.
This synergy translated into tangible in-cohort partnerships. Varsityscape and I-Train Africa integrated their capabilities, with I-Train Africa leveraging Varsityscape’s platform to create and deliver content more efficiently.
Similarly, Kryptr partnered with FlexiSAF during the 2025 Quizzathon 3.0, tapping into FlexiSAF’s Distinction undergraduate user base to extend scholarships, career readiness pathways, and nationwide student engagement. These collaborations reflect a growing maturity within the ecosystem, one where shared capacity, not competition, drives innovation and amplifies collective impact.
This Demo Day is a proud moment for us at CcHUB because it showcases what intentional innovation truly looks like in action,” said Nissi Madu, Managing Partner at Co-creation HUB (CcHUB). “It’s not just the culmination of a programme — it’s a celebration of the dedication and creativity of the startup teams who have worked tirelessly to refine their solutions, co-design with their users, and ensure their products meet real learning needs at scale. It affirms Africa’s growing capability to build inclusive, impactful solutions that address education challenges systemically. Through the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, we’re seeing that vision come to life: founders building with purpose, learners benefiting from technology that truly works for them, and innovation shaping the future of education across the continent. As we look ahead to the post-acceleration phase, we’re excited to continue supporting these innovators as they scale their solutions to reach millions of learners and drive measurable improvements in learning outcomes across Nigeria.”
The Fellowship continues to serve as a powerful catalyst for inclusive innovation. Startups such as AI Teacha, BlueSands Academy, and Cloudnotte are redefining classroom experiences through digital and AI-powered tools that enhance teaching and learning outcomes.
Reflecting on the journey, Chiemezie Ucheaga, Founder of Mavis Computel shared:
“Being part of the Mastercard Foundation Edtech Fellowship has been a defining moment for our company, cementing our belief that there are organizations committed to enhancing the provision of quality basic education to children in marginalized communities. The stretching the CcHUB team gave us – from improved product design to impactful storytelling – has helped us develop the structure we’ve desperately needed for growth and as a founder, I’ve personally learned the value of having a healthy team. “
Mavis Computel’s flagship solution, the Mavis Talking Book, exemplifies the Fellowship’s inclusion mission. Designed for marginalized and hard-to-reach communities, including children in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, the tool combines printed storybooks with a digital pen that reads aloud in indigenous languages, enabling children with limited school access to learn with dignity and comprehension.
“Being part of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship 2025 has given us clarity, momentum, strengthened Cloudnotte’s capacity and the right support system to scale the impact of Cloudnotte across Africa. From mentorship to market access, every element of the program has pushed us to think bigger and execute smarter. The experience has deepened my conviction that African solutions, built by Africans, will shape the future of learning, to make digital learning accessible to every learner, regardless of location”. said Mary Matthew, Founder of Cloudnotte, reflecting on the impact of the Fellowship.
Now in its third cohort, the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship implemented by CcHUB has supported 36 African EdTech startups since inception, collectively transforming how learners access and engage with digital education tools. Across Nigeria, these solutions continue to advance inclusive, technology-driven learning models that strengthen teaching outcomes, expand access, and enable schools to adopt more effective digital practices.
CcHUB and the Mastercard Foundation remain committed to doubling down on efforts to strengthen Africa’s EdTech ecosystem through strategic partnerships, evidence-based innovation, and greater integration of AI in learning.
About CcHUB
Co-creation HUB (CcHUB) is committed to advancing Africa’s economic prosperity by accelerating the application of social capital and technology. Founded in 2010 as Nigeria’s first innovation centre, CcHUB has evolved into the largest technology innovation centre in Africa, with a physical presence in Lagos, Kigali, Nairobi, and Windhoek. Its transformative programs have reached over 40 countries, including South Africa, Morocco, Tanzania, Zambia, Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
For more information on Co-creation HUB, kindly visit www.cchub.africa
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 https://www.mastercardfdn.org
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 the end of 2025.
For more information reach us at edtechfellowship@mastercardfdn.org
