Edtech in Africa: A Focus on Higher Education

Introduction
Over the past two decades, higher education enrollment in Africa has increased by 125%, this has seen the demand far surpass the current supply. Only 5% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa has access to higher education, which is the lowest regional average worldwide. This is alarming considering that Africa’s population is set to double by the year 2050, surpassing 2 billion people with half of this demographic under the age of 25 years. According to the World Bank, most of the global workforce will come from Africa with 22 million joining the workforce each year. This indicates that these people will need the relevant skills to participate in a changing labor market. But the question remains who will train this future workforce of the world? Is there enough capacity being built up?

The Current Landscape of African Higher Education

As it stands, it is estimated that only about 17 Million people have access to higher education in Africa, which is a cause for concern given the high demand. While strides have been made in K-12 education with approximately 500 million children enrolled in primary school, there is still a substantial difference between those who start and complete K-12 education and those who make it into higher education. This underscores the presence of numerous other challenges contributing to the higher education gap.

Challenges in higher education

While There have been notable increases in investments directed toward higher education on the continent, these resources still fall short of accommodating the rising student numbers. The challenges in higher education include equity and inclusion, a low research output, leadership and governance, also the quality of the education Itself, which often is considered outdated. Even though there has been progress over the past few decades, we have to keep in mind that the world is changing at a fast pace. The higher education education system has not stayed in touch with technological advancements and different labor market demands. There is a mounting need for graduates who possess the relevant technological skills to execute their jobs, and 87% of African CEOs share this concern.

Edtech Solutions the opportunity for Higher Education

Edtech solutions have the potential to address several pressing issues, particularly those related to access, quality, and affordability. In higher education, Edtech solutions can enhance accessibility by providing opportunities for learners to receive education beyond the constraints of traditional institutions with limited enrollment capacity. Moreover, Edtech in higher education is capable of swiftly adapting to the evolving demands of the workforce, a task that larger institutions often find challenging.

Challenges in Implementing Edtech in African Higher Education

While Edtech in higher education is a huge opportunity, it is not without challenges, Implementing Edtech in African higher education. In theory, it seems a no-brainer to implement ed-tech solutions, that can reach all aspiring students who want to learn new skills through online platforms. The absence of plans for the development of hundreds of new universities for these prospective students suggests that EdTech will stand as the solution to offer equitable access to top-notch education for the expanding population. However, the countries in the African continent have different levels of development, and social challenges, infrastructure, and economic power, the challenges are multi-faceted which presents an opportunity for creative solutions.

While the conditions are ripe for an ed-tech revolution in Africa we have to remember that Infrastructure plays a pivotal role. In sub-Saharan Africa mobile internet connectivity is 25%, signifying that there is still a long way to go before the internet is widely available. In addition, to the low coverage of the internet, those who have access struggle to afford the high hardware and data costs, which are considered to be amongst the highest in the world. On the positive side satellite-based Internet providers for example Starlink could play a huge role in improving accessibility, as the Internet becomes available in remote areas. More internet providers could also mean that prices will be lower, because of increased competition.

Edtech in African Higher Education

Edtech companies in Africa have not waited for the perfect conditions in order to start solving education challenges. Founders have had to be Innovative in their approach to solving these challenges by utilizing free courses, Income-sharing agreements, corporate-funded programs, hybrid approaches, etc.

Below is a Market Map of the Edtech companies that focus on higher education and workforce skilling If the system was created for military preparedness, social order, standardization, and bureaucratic control. I wonder what we are trying to achieve for this and the next generation.

Edtech in Higher education

It's hard to tell apart the edtech for higher education and job skills training. However, the above figure shows that entrepreneurs realize the opportunity of solving the problem of increased accessibility to higher education and work-related skills. The African EdTech field will expand in the future. Governments and people today spend a lot on education, and some of this spending will surely go into EdTech. However, how quickly the market grows depends mainly on fixing infrastructure problems: making mobile internet more available and lowering data costs. Also, as economies develop, it's important for this growth to be fair so that people are more willing to pay for tech products. Lastly, more private money needs to go into this area faster: African and global venture capital firms should support African entrepreneurs dealing with education issues early on.

References

https://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/challenges-and-prospects-africas-higher-education

https://www.connectingafrica.com/document.asp?doc_id=785804#close-modal

https://kenza-bouhaj.medium.com/edtech-in-africa-a-landscape-6bb03c299b33

https://techcabal.com/2023/03/04/edtech-startups-africa/

https://www.iesalc.unesco.org/en/2020/12/23/understanding-access-to-higher-education-in-the-last-two-decades/

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/birth-university-evidence-7-african-countries-education/

https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/862691509089826066/sharing-higher-education-s-promise-beyond-the-few-in-sub-saharan-africa

https://www.scidev.net/global/features/higher-education-africa-facts-figures/

https://www.gsma.com/r/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/State-of-Mobile-Internet-Connectivity-2023-Sub-Saharan-Africa.pdf

https://content.clearygottlieb.com/regions/africa-outlook/african-edtech-a-key-focus-for-vcs-and-investors/index.html#group-section-The-Need-for-EdTech-6sFDzxkes3

https://afr-ix.com/edtech-for-higher-education-in-africa/

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