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The Cape Town-based ed-tech incubator Injini has selected its first cohort, with eight startups gaining access to support with scaling and up to US$40,000 in funding.

Injini claims to be the first dedicated ed-tech incubator on the continent, and will kick off its first programme this week.

The six-month programme will see eight startups from across the continent receive up to US$40,000 in funding, and training and mentorship to help them scale their ed-tech solutions.

The selected startups include four from South Africa, namely data analytics app for parents and ECD teachers Early Bird, audio and visual science and maths lesson provider Syafunda, university-student matching platform Zelda, and language-learning chatbot Uthini.

Ethiopian teacher training solution Accelerated, Kenyan adaptive learning solution M-Shule, Tanzanian AI-powered offline search engine for students Ask Matabe, and South Sudanese low-tech book distribution service Yo Books! complete the list.

“Though there is progress being made by great teachers and leaders in existing schools, it is only through technology – with its ability to scale at speed – that African education can overcome the great structural barriers standing in our way,” said Injini co-founder Jamie Martin.

“We will build on three strengths unique to the African continent – the sacrifices made by parents and communities in the name of education, the rapid adoption of new technology, and the incredible spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation. It won’t be big government, big business or big bureaucracies that harness the power of technology to change education. It will be teachers, entrepreneurs, and individual citizens impassioned by a mission to make opportunity more equal through education. Ed-tech isn’t an area where Africa should aim to catch up the rest of the world – it is one in which Africa can lead it.”

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