Amazon has selected three Nigerian organisations out of nine from Africa to join the fourth cohort of its Amazon Web Services (AWS) Social Entrepreneur Accelerator.
This makes the continent the largest representative in the global programme, with selected organisations drawn from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon, and Tanzania. The cohort of 42 is drawn from 16 countries, which include the USA, Australia, India, the UK, and others.
The AWS Social Entrepreneur Accelerator, in collaboration with Deloitte, provides technical training, strategic business planning, and ongoing AWS and Deloitte support to help mission-driven organisations scale some of the world’s most urgent challenges across education, health, and climate resilience.
Jyoti Ball, General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at AWS, expressed delight over Africa’s representation, stating that “Africa’s representation in this cohort reflects what we’re seeing across the continent, a generation of founders who don’t wait for conditions to be perfect. They build anyway.
“Our role is to ensure they have access to the same world-class cloud and AI technology as any startup in Silicon Valley and the support to scale impact across borders.”
The three organisations selected from Nigeria are Sabi Scholar, Kayode Alabi Leadership, and Wetech Inc. According to the CEO of Sabi Scholar, Divine Iloh, he is creating an “operating system” for African higher education, enabling any university to launch online degrees in 30 days, a potential game-changer for the continent’s 200M+ youth population.
For Kayode Alabi Leadership, the founder, Hammed Kayode Alabi, is reducing inequalities by empowering underserved young people to lead and innovate through transformative education and technology-driven solutions to solve local challenges and thrive as community changemakers.
The last is Wetech Inc., whose founder, Gabriella Uwadiegwu, is building Africa’s largest pipeline of women in technology, from training to mentorship to direct employment pathways.
In Kenya, the two organisations are KuzeKuze and STEM Centre Africa. According to the CTO of KuzeKuze, Enock Sangaka Mong’are, the organisation is building “education passports” as digital records that follow learners throughout their lives, making personalised education measurable and scalable.
STEM Centre Africa, a non-profit launched in 2017 by two brothers, Dancun, the CTO, and Denish Akoum, CEO, to promote hands-on STEM education, including coding, robotics, and 3D design, reaching over 18,000 + students since inception, with 90% gaining proficiency in Python, Scratch, and electronics. Operating two centres in Homa Bay County with 10 organisational partners, SCA aims to reach 100,000 learners by 2030.
The remaining four are from Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon, and Tanzania. In Ghana, BASICS International, founded by CEO Patricia Wilkins, is breaking cycles of poverty by providing education, certified digital skills training and holistic support to underserved children and youth, equipping them to thrive academically, economically, and socially.
For South Africa, FunHouse Digital, founded by Ayabulela Yokwana, is turning gaming lounges into self-sustaining education hubs in rural communities – profits from gaming directly fund free coding and digital literacy programmes. While in Cameroon, EduCloud, founded by Rosius Ndimofor Ateh, delivers hands-on Cloud and AI workshops across Africa, bridging the gap between academic theory and industry-ready skills. Last is Tanzania, where Fiqra Academy, founded by CEO Gerald Revocatus, is creating a direct pipeline from digital skills training to employment for East African youth, with certifications that lead to real careers through their digital learning platform.
The organisations join a global cohort of 42 organisations from 16 countries. At the end of the programme, the cohort will be equipped to build and scale their solutions with AWS cloud and AI technology and Deloitte consulting expertise.
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