TEN home-grown Tanzanian EdTech companies have been listed in the first cohort set to receive business and financial support and insight into the science of learning to prepare them for scale, sustainability and impact.

The move is also meant to transform the country’s education sector.

It’s also part of its inaugural partnership with the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship—an acceleration programme designed to support promising African EdTech ventures in partnership with innovation hubs and accelerators across the continent.

The Fellowship is implemented by Sahara Consult as part of its inaugural partnership with Mastercard Foundation.

In 2023, solutions by Fellowship cohorts in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya reached 2.6 million learners.

Over the next eight months, Tanzania’s inaugural cohort of growth-stage EdTech companies will benefit from mentorship through business and financial support and insight into the science of learning to prepare them for scale, sustainability, and impact.

“Congratulations to the ten EdTech companies. This marks the beginning of a new journey in innovation. Sahara Consult is intentional about growing the EdTech sector in Tanzania, and working with the Mastercard Foundation will see us increase educational opportunities through technology,” said Nancy Kiondo, Sahara Consult, managing director.

The work of these 10 companies represents the transformative power of educational technology in increasing access to relevant and accessible education across Tanzania.

Some of the beneficiaries in this year’s Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship include Shuleyetu Innovations ltd, Mtabe—a company that uses artificial intelligence, Smartdarasa, Infotaaluma, ShuleSoft, Smartcore Enterprise, Kilimanjaro Planetarium part of Rada 360 Ltd, and MITz Group.

Joseph Nsengimana, director of the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning said, “Through partnerships with tech hubs such as Sahara Consult, we hope to increase access to quality, relevant, and accessible learning to Tanzania’s and Africa’s underserved learners through locally developed, technology-enabled solutions. We look forward to an even greater impact this year.”

Alongside training, the fellowship will also offer equity-free funding of up to $70,000 and post-programme support for up to one year after the acceleration program. By supporting these EdTech innovators, Sahara Consult and the Mastercard Foundation aim to advance the education sector in Tanzania.