The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship is a specialised support programme for growth-stage education technology ventures across Africa. Hosted on Hive Colab’s EdTech Hub, this fellowship helps selected EdTech startups deepen their impact, scale products, and strengthen their business foundations — with tailored mentorship, resources, and ecosystem support.
👉 Learn more:https://edtech.hivecolab.com/ (edtech.hivecolab.com)
Why This Fellowship Matters
Education technology is a strategic lever for expanding access to quality learning, building future skills, and supporting lifelong learning. Yet many founders struggle to access structured support beyond early validation. The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship bridges this gap, helping ventures with traction to refine product-market fit, strengthen operational systems, and move toward sustainable scale. This support is especially important in African markets with diverse education needs and infrastructure challenges.
What the Fellowship Offers (Benefits)
🎯 Strategic Mentorship & Coaching
Fellows work with seasoned edtech and business leaders who provide targeted coaching on growth pathways, impact strategies, business models, and partnerships.
📚 Access to Practical Tools & Learning Content
The EdTech Hub offers playbooks, templates, and frameworks for refining product strategy, learner engagement, data analytics, and scaling plans.
🤝 Community & Network Opportunities
Fellowship participants connect with a pan-African community of edtech founders, education experts, investors, and development partners — enhancing visibility and collaboration potential.
🚀 Ecosystem Exposure
Fellows may receive introductions to funders, corporates, pilot partners, and policy stakeholders who can support adoption, growth, or investment readiness.
📈 Support for Business Growth
The programme helps ventures sharpen their go-to-market strategies, review impact measurement systems, and build resilience for long-term sustainability.
Who Can Apply (Eligibility)
The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship is ideal for ventures that:
✔ Are registered and operating in African countries.
✔ Have a working product or platform with real users (beyond concept stage).
✔ Are at a growth stage — meaning they have moved beyond early experimentation and are focused on scaling impact.
✔ Aim to tackle education challenges such as learning access, quality, transitions to work, or digital skills.
✔ Demonstrate a commitment to measurable impact on learners, teachers, or education systems.
There are no strict sector constraints — the Fellowship welcomes solutions across foundational learning, skills development, career pathways, teacher support, and tech-enabled education services. (edtech.hivecolab.com)
