Rwanda ICT Chamber in partnership with Mastercard Foundation convened an EdTech Stakeholders Meeting to mobilise education leaders and technology innovators, co-accelerating educational technology that supports locally driven education technology solutions to expand access to quality teaching and learning in Rwanda through the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship. During the meeting, Edtech companies selected for the programme cohort 1 Zora Robotics Ltd, Soma Foundation Rwanda, Berulo Foundation, Creativity Lab, Nyereka Tech, Brain Ink, EdTech Solutions and Competence By Jobra showcased their solutions, including tools for tracking attendance, identifying learning gaps, supporting offline learning, improving practical science education through robotics and connecting students to work experience. They were showcased on Friday, October 2, when education officials from districts across the country, regulators and EdTech companies gathered in Kigali to explore how locally developed technologies can address challenges facing schools. Alex Ntale, CEO of Rwanda ICT Chamber, said the engagement seeks to bridge the gap between innovations developed by entrepreneurs and the realities faced by schools. “It is to bridge that gap between the innovations created by entrepreneurs and the actual needs in the field,” said Ntale. He stressed that accelerating technology adoption in education requires collective ownership. “This is not just a government agenda; it is something that belongs to all of us. We must take ownership of it and move quickly, as Rwanda’s vision for education is deeply rooted in technology,” he said. The engagement is part of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, implemented by Rwanda ICT Chamber in partnership with Mastercard Foundation to support growth-stage EdTech companies and help them expand locally and regionally. The 2026-2027 fellowship is supporting eight EdTech startups, each expected to reach at least 5,000 learners, for a combined target of more than 40,000 learners. Connecting innovators with schools Dieudonné Dusabimana, Program Manager for the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship at Rwanda ICT Chamber, said bringing district education officials together with innovators could ease the companies’ access to schools. “One of the challenges our fellows face is getting access to schools. Bringing all the directors of education at the district level together means they now understand the programme and the solutions, which should make it easier for the fellows to reach schools in their districts,” he said. “We want to get the real challenges from the people supervising education at district level and then have our fellows develop or adapt their solutions to address those challenges.” More than 50 EdTech companies are currently working with the ICT Chamber, which has a wider network of more than 500 technology companies across different sectors. Tackling learning gaps and absenteeism Brain Ink uses artificial intelligence to grade handwritten homework and assignments, analyse learners’ strengths and weaknesses, identify learning gaps and generate tailored assessments. David Ntwali, the company’s co-founder, said a learner can score 63 per cent in mathematics and still have gaps that affect performance in more advanced concepts. The company is piloting the system in four schools involving 3,200 students. Ntwali said it has identified and addressed more than 21,000 learning gaps and recorded a 12.8 per cent improvement in student scores. The platform also aims to cut the time teachers spend grading work and preparing assessments from more than 15 hours a week to about three hours. Berulo focuses on attendance, tracking daily records and alerting relevant authorities when a learner is absent so schools and local leaders can intervene before absenteeism becomes a more serious dropout problem. Jack Gashumba, Director of Education in Bugesera District, said such technologies could help schools cope with rapid population growth. Some Bugesera schools have classes of between 80 and 100 students, while shortages of textbooks mean four or five learners sometimes share one book, he said. Gashumba added that technology could help teachers manage large classes while making science and mathematics more practical through digital tools and affordable kits. “We are lucky because we are exploring innovations that can address these issues, as the government continues to seek for long-term solutions,” he said. Expanding access beyond internet-connected schools For schools where internet access remains a challenge, Edtech Solutions is developing an offline learning platform that allows learners to access courses without continuous connectivity. Aurore Hirwa, the company’s CEO, said the platform has been implemented in eight schools over the past two months and targets rural communities, refugee settings and women seeking digital skills. Users can install the application on a computer or smartphone, download learning modules and continue studying without an active internet connection. Diane Sengati, Head of ICT in Education at Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), said Rwanda has made progress in equipping schools with technology but now needs to focus on how it is used. She indicated that nearly 90 per cent of schools have access to devices and internet connectivity, compared with 2016 when Rwanda began distributing Positivo laptops at scale. “The goal is not for teachers and students simply to have devices. We want to see technology in action in education,” Sengati said. She said technology should be integrated into teaching, assessment and learner engagement across subjects rather than being limited to computer science or administrative work. Linking learning to employment The discussions also covered digital skills and employment opportunities for underserved communities, including refugees. Eric Mutabazi, refugee technical adviser at the Ministry of Emergency Management, said Rwanda hosts more than 140,000 refugees, 48 per cent of whom are children. EdTech, he observed, should expand access to learning while equipping learners with skills that respond to labour-market needs and support their transition into employment. “After studies, after school, after learning, what are they going to do with what they have learned?” Mutabazi said. Refugee children are integrated into Rwanda’s national education system, where they study alongside their Rwandan fellows. All in all, the engagement highlighted that closing Rwanda’s learning gaps requires more than technology alone, it requires strong collaboration between education leaders, innovators, teachers, and other stakeholders to ensure that solutions respond to the realities of learners and schools. By connecting those closest to education challenges with locally driven EdTech innovators, the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship is helping create pathways for solutions that are relevant, inclusive, scalable, and capable of contributing to better learning outcomes. Discover more: www.edtech.rw.
