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How EdTech is shaping education in challenging environments

11 February 2025

Interview Technology Learning & Education Society Education technology Education policy Education systems Equity Language Learning environments Reading and writing STEM Teaching methods Technology and society

Personalised learning with EdTech can help close literacy and numeracy gaps

Photo provided by Imagine Worldwide

Interviewee:

Rapelang Rabana

Co-CEO, Imagine Worldwide

Interview by:

Aisha Schnellmann

Editorial Team, BOLD

Technology has the power to deliver solutions to real challenges in Africa at scale and redistribute opportunity, says Rapelang Rabana, Co-CEO of the NGO Imagine Worldwide. Rapelang talks with Aisha Schnellmann about how EdTech that delivers high-quality, personalised, and affordable learning experiences to children in challenging environments is transforming education in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Aisha Schnellmann: What are the biggest challenges facing children in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Rapelang Rabana: I’m originally from Botswana, and education has been the cornerstone of my growth as an entrepreneur and leader. I have always believed in the power of technology to deliver solutions to real challenges in Africa at scale, and thereby to redistribute opportunity.

All children have immense potential, but millions lack access to quality education. Basic literacy and numeracy are transformative, improving children’s health, economic opportunities, and social outcomes — benefits that extend to future generations. Yet in Sub-Saharan Africa, 89% of children cannot read with understanding by age 10, and they struggle with similar challenges in mathematics.

“All children have immense potential, but millions lack access to quality education.”

In the countries where we work, children face numerous obstacles in their early school years: overcrowded classrooms, insufficiently trained teachers, inadequate learning materials, and schools that lack basic infrastructure such as electricity and internet connectivity. Efforts to address these challenges, for example by building more schools and hiring more teachers, have proved too slow, costly, and ineffective in narrowing persistent learning gaps. Given that by 2030 nearly half of the world’s youth will be African, the need to solve these challenges is becoming increasingly urgent.

Imagine the profound human, economic, and environmental benefits if all children received the education they deserve.

AS: What do children need to help them thrive, and how is Imagine Worldwide contributing in this area?

RR: To thrive, children need opportunities to learn in ways that meet their unique challenges and potential. EdTech can play an important role if it is designed specifically with children’s needs in mind, particularly for those in the most difficult environments. Our unique EdTech solution at Imagine Worldwide helps students flourish by providing them with access to quality personalised and affordable learning from anywhere, even in the most challenging environments.

Children need tools that work in their environments. Our sturdy tablets require no internet access and can be solar-powered, allowing children to learn in even the most remote areas. In overcrowded classrooms, it’s hard for teachers to give all children the support they need. Our adaptive software uses the local language of instruction and tailors lessons to each child’s skill level and pace, allowing students to direct their own learning, as it complements teacher instruction. Children need programs that last. We have cut costs significantly, making it possible to provide our solution for less than $7 per child per year so that schools are able to sustain the program long-term. Children need tools that actually work. Our approach is backed by rigorous evidence. Nine randomised controlled trials (RCTs) using our tablet software have shown dramatic learning gains across different countries, languages, and contexts.

Results from a 2-year RCT in Malawi showed that after just 13 months, at least 50% more children are meeting reading benchmarks, and 70% of children are reaching expected math levels. The program has also boosted school enrolment, attendance, and positive attitudes towards learning. Importantly, girls are performing on par with boys, yielding long-term benefits for them like improved health, delayed marriages, and higher incomes.

The program engages teachers and parents as key partners in student success. In a recent research study in Malawi, 93% of teachers reported increased enjoyment in teaching, and parents shared stories of remarkable progress.

Building on this success, Imagine Worldwide is scaling up rapidly. Malawi’s government has launched a national expansion of the program aimed at reaching all public primary schools by 2029 and affecting over 4 million students annually. The program’s reach across all participating countries has grown from 6,000 students in 2022 to 700,000 by early 2025, with plans to replicate the model in countries like Sierra Leone and Tanzania.

By meeting children where they are and giving them the tools they need, we can help them unlock their full potential and thrive.

“By meeting children where they are and giving them the tools they need, we can help them unlock their full potential and thrive.”

AS: What have you learnt through your work?

RR: As we have scaled our programs country-wide, we’ve learnt that our role increasingly involves supply chain management, logistics, and data aggregation. Managing programs at this scale requires a robust platform for site and device management. That’s why we’re excited to accelerate the development of our “Open Learning Architecture”.

This platform will provide operational oversight for thousands of schools, hundreds of thousands of devices, and millions of learners, even in areas with limited access to the internet and power. It will collect critical data on enrolment, attendance, and learning progress – addressing a major gap in education systems across the Global South.

By enabling real-time data collection and individual learner identification, this tool will support the continuous improvement of our software and facilitate personalised learning pathways to deliver more targeted, individualised instruction over time. Importantly, we will provide the platform royalty-free in perpetuity to our government partners.

AS: What is your vision for children in the future?

RR: I envision a world in which all children have access to opportunity. Imagine’s mission is to empower millions of children across Sub-Saharan Africa by enabling them to develop the necessary literacy and numeracy skills to reach their full potential. The need to reach this goal is becoming increasingly urgent as Africa’s population skyrockets and the global economy demands skilled workers, future innovators, and responsible citizens.It is impossible to advance global equity without addressing the current learning crisis.

I believe that in 10 years the evidence will be so compelling and the technology so available that Imagine Worldwide will no longer need to promote the use of EdTech for foundational learning. Our sights are set on a future of democratised learning and equitable access to quality instruction and materials, regardless of a child’s living situation.

While we are now at an unprecedented moment for going big, I also hold close to my heart the impact we are having at the smallest level, helping children realise their personal potential. As a young girl in an overcrowded classroom in Malawi told us, “I like the tablet because when I make a mistake it does not move on to the next student, it tells me to try again and when I try, I get the right answer.”