Applications have opened for the second edition of the Cape Town-based Injini ed-tech incubator, the first programme dedicated to learning startups on the African continent.
Injini took in its first cohort – eight companies from five different African countries – in October of last year, and is now looking for another eight ed-tech innovations that can change education across Africa.
Each company selected will receive US$50,000 direct funding and take part in a five-month incubation programme, with Injini to hold events in Lagos (March 6), Accra (March 13), Nairobi (March 14), Dar es Salaam (March 19), Kampala (March 26) and Cape Town (March 28) to promote applications and meet ed-tech entrepreneurs from across the continent.
The programme will feature workshops and mentoring dedicated to developing great education technology products and building a business that can expand across Africa and events with ed-tech funders and institutions.
“Our first cohort was the manifestation of a big argument about the future of education in Africa – that though business as usual has failed and the system is badly broken, young entrepreneurs from across the continent can bring big ideas to scale that can change education and allow Africa to realise its huge potential for growth in the twenty first century,” Injini co-founder Jamie Martin said.
“In our second cohort we will aim to improve on the first – refining our programme, increasing our funding and utilising our bigger network to bring both cohort two and cohort one companies to scale across the continent. We are expecting hundreds of applications from nearly every country in Africa – big ideas from talented entrepreneurs right across education stages that will change the future not just of education but of a whole continent.”
Injini said its first cohort has made significant progress, with South Sudanese company Yo Books expanding into Uganda, South African startup Uthini winning a contract with Wits University, Tanzanian team Mtabe on the brink of a deal with a major telecom which could see it reach one million students, and South Africa’s Syafunda winning deals to reach more schools across South Africa.
