Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship Launches in Egypt

Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship launches in Egypt, following previous programmes in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship is an entrepreneurship acceleration program that was started in 2019 for promising ed-tech ventures to be based in Africa. It plays a key role in providing core business, financial, and educational solutions to support the growth of ed-tech startups toward sustainability and the expansion of their impact.

The fellowship has already helped several companies in countries like Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya among others and is now launching in Egypt through a collaboration with EdVentures, which is the investment arm of Nahdet Misr Group which is among the prominent ed-tech venture capital companies within the Middle East and North Africa region.

A total of twelve startups have been selected to participate in the first eight-month programme that will provide them with focused training, mentoring, workshops, networking, and credit facilities for educational courses. Every participant will get 60,000 US dollars of equity free grant. As a whole, the fellowship will aim to support 36 ed-tech startups for the next 3 years making an enhanced impact in the education sector.

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“We are honoured to collaborate with the Mastercard Foundation, a testament of our impact in Egypt’s ed-tech sector. This collaboration is pivotal for the ed-tech industry, aligning with our mission to foster innovation and empower young entrepreneurs,” remarked Dalia Ibrahim, founder and CEO of EdVentures.

“Together, we will continue to shape a robust ed-tech ecosystem in Egypt, redefining learning experiences. We eagerly anticipate the forthcoming cycles, each contributing to our shared vision of a brighter future for education.”

The first social entrepreneurs involved in the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship are 5 Quarters, a mobile learning application for dental students; Armstrong, an interactive STEM e-learning portal; Business بالعربي, an Arabic language podcast for self-improvement and learning of business skills; Career 180, the solution for youth to help them build a successful career; Deaf Gain, a consulting firm to help the deaf and hard of hearing; and

The cohort is completed by iSchool, which teaches AI and coding for kids ages 6-17; Mharet Tefl: a speech therapy programme for children; Nafham by Tayro, an interactive learning tool; OTO Courses, which is an online English tutoring and other courses; Science Street, an educational tool that aims at promoting people’s knowledge in science; and Bayt Alkhyata, which is a social development programme for women and their communities.