Last week from July 8 to 10, the MasterCard Foundation’s inaugural EdTech Conference witnessed the gathering of more than 600 stakeholders, including innovators, entrepreneurs and policymakers from over 30 countries on the continent and beyond.
Participants who came together in the capital of Nigeria, Abuja, reached a consensus that integrating technology into learning systems in Africa is now a necessity, not a luxury, in building technology for resilient and inclusive learning in Africa.
Following the successful completion of the first conference, Peter Materu, chief programme officer at the MasterCard Foundation, acknowledged the importance of investing in education and the role this plays in ensuring sustainable communities.
“Investing in education in Africa is not only about Africa; rather, it is about investing in human capital for the world. It is also about building resilience in our learning systems to better prepare us for future shocks such as the recent Covic-19 pandemic.
“This is why the Mastercard Foundation is committed to working with partners to scale education initiatives and enable innovations that foster the integration of technology into learning systems,” Materu said.
The fiery but important discussions held in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria concluded with a collective call to action on 10 recommendations for governments and other EdTech stakeholders.
“Inclusion is the cornerstone of EdTech and If we fail to reach all learners we fail to fulfil our potential to revolutionise education,” said Dr Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
Referencing the AU’s 2024 Year of Education, discussions at the conference also highlighted the state of EdTech in Africa, assessment of technology-enabled solutions to the continent’s education challenges, data evidence, collaborations, funding, and opportunities to tap into emerging technologies to accelerate the skilling of young people, particularly young women.
Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim, Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Youth Development, emphasised the need to prioritise inclusiveness in education reform, saying all voices, especially voices of young women, needed to be included in the formulation of policies for them to be effective.
The AU’s Special Youth Envoy, Chido Mpemba, noted that “accessible innovations can be global in outlook while also being deeply rooted in the needs of Africa’s young population”.
Furthermore, the three-day inaugural event saw African-led EdTech entrepreneurs exhibit their solutions at the conference to demonstrate how efforts to encourage impactful education innovation can deliver the future of learning.
The recommendations from the conference were shared at the 3rd Ministerial Forum on EdTech in Africa, which took place at the conclusion of the conference. Three of the recommendations were prioritised for concrete action between now and the next forum set for 2025.
Through its Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning, the Mastercard Foundation strategically partners to foster innovation, share best practices, conduct research, and convene events such as the EdTech Conference to advance inclusive education, especially for under-served learners.
Speaking about the recently concluded conference in Abuja, Joseph Nsengimana, the director of the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning, emphasised the importance of advancing education through technology, saying: “The collective commitment to advancing education through the power of technology promises to significantly transform the educational landscape, ensuring that Africa's youth are well-equipped for the future.”
Saturday Star