If AI is taking over, how are Africa’s edtech platforms gearing up for adoption?

TECH CABAL

As the demand for customised learning grows across Africa, Edtech startups in Africa are keen on joining the AI bandwagon. While some feel there needs to be more time for incorporating AI into learning, others think there’s no better time than now.

There is a new revolution in town—Artificial Intelligence (AI)—and edtech startups in Africa are not missing out on the wave. Edtech startups in Africa are positioning themselves to leverage this transformative technology to revolutionise education and drive positive change across the continent. With the growing demand for personalised learning and remote education, these innovative companies are increasingly exploring the potential of AI to enhance their offerings. 

The adoption of AI in education has the potential to revolutionise the way students learn, access educational resources, and interact with educators. African edtech startups are aware of the transformative potential of AI and are getting ready to embrace this technology to take their businesses to the next level.

To the CEO of AltSchool Africa, Adewale Yusuf, there has never been a better time for Africa to get involved in a cutting-edge solution. “I think that for the first time, we might have some chances to be a part of some innovative solutions. Some of these things might start from Africa and not just us participating in them,” he said on a call with TechCabal.

Vahid Pourahmary, VP of Engineering at uLesson, a Nigerian edtech platform,  believes that, AI is just an enabler—a means to an end in itself.  “If you think about technology, technology has always been a part of education even If you go back to the time when we had an abacus to do maths,” he said. 

“Technology has always been in some sort or some form part of education, whether you wanted it or not. During the pandemic, whether you wanted it or not, you had to start teaching online. When the calculators were invented, whether you wanted it or not, you had to start introducing calculators in the way you are teaching. Every education organisation in the world has somehow used technology to teach,” he added.

Where does Africa’s edtech ecosystem stand in this revolution?

“In the edtech ecosystem, everybody is asking and answering the million-dollar question ‘How are you going to implement AI into your existing infrastructure?” says Pourahmary. He believes that the approach to answering this question is a matter of “when” rather than “how”. He states that education is at the core of uLesson. 

“At the core, education is our mantra, we use technology to enable that, to make it faster. AI is just one step into that process. Technology is at the core of how we deliver educational content. It might be right now with AI, we don’t know what it is going to be in a few years from now.” Pourahmary said. “We at uLesson want to make sure our learners learn, whether we do it with AI or whether we do it without it. It is just part of the technology that has always come and has been used in different ways.”

Oluwabunmi Borokinni, Founder, TechChild Africa, feels AI will play a redefining role in access to education in Africa. She believes AI-powered platforms can provide distance learning opportunities for students in remote areas with limited traditional educational resources. “In Africa, we have a lot of areas where they only have access to traditional educational resources. To be able to help that, we need AI-powered platforms that can provide distance learning opportunities for them,” she said.