EdVentures, Mastercard Foundation select 13 Egyptian startups for 3rd EdTech Fellowship

Thirteen Egyptian ed‑tech startups have been selected for the third cohort of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, run by EdVentures, the corporate venture arm of Nahdet Misr Group. The intake expands the programme’s portfolio to 36 startups supported across three cohorts and aims to provide business, financial and learning‑science support to prepare the companies for scale, sustainability and impact.

"At EdVentures, we believe that transforming education requires more than innovative technologies; it requires strong partnerships that bring together shared expertise, resources, and a common vision for impact,” said Dalia Ibrahim, founder and CEO of EdVentures, at the fellowship’s kick‑off event. “The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship is a powerful example of how collaboration can accelerate innovation, expand opportunities for entrepreneurs, and reach more learners and communities across Africa."

The fellowship is implemented in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation through its Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning and works with innovation hubs and ed‑tech accelerators across Africa. Wariko Waita, director of the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning, described the programme as operating "at the intersection of three powerful forces — education system transformation, inclusive technology‑enabled solutions, and the sustainability of Africa's EdTech entrepreneurship ecosystem." She added: “Through this fellowship, we are supporting innovators who are expanding access to learning, creating opportunities for young people, and helping shape the future of education across Egypt and Africa.”

Cohort composition and focus areas

• Wisdom Education — advancing medical and dental education through specialised digital learning experiences.
• Hoopooh — an AI‑powered early childhood education platform.
• Business Development Institute (BDI) — delivers entrepreneurship, business development and professional upskilling programmes.
• Plan P — bridging the gap between healthcare education and real‑world clinical practice.
• MedsPark — providing specialised healthcare training and professional development opportunities.
• E‑TripleSoft Learn — offers practical ERP and enterprise technology education aligned with market needs.
• MOMKEN FOR HER — empowers women through learning, upskilling and employment opportunities.
• Edulga.ai — leveraging AI to deliver personalised lifelong learning pathways.
• SDS Egypt — creates education‑to‑employment pathways for persons with disabilities through accessible digital learning.
• GMind — transforming learning through immersive VR and AR educational experiences.
• Qualiphi — connects students, universities and employers through AI‑powered employability solutions.
• Empower Hub — helps underserved youth access mentorship, scholarships and global opportunities.
• Farid Academy — promotes social‑emotional learning, character development and wellbeing for children and youth.

The selected startups reflect a broad set of interventions across the education pipeline: early childhood, healthcare and professional training, enterprise technology skills, inclusive learning for persons with disabilities, immersive learning via VR/AR, AI‑driven personalisation and employability solutions. Several startups explicitly target youth unemployment and workforce readiness by linking curricula to employer needs or creating direct pathways to jobs.

Outlook

With the portfolio now at 36 startups across three cohorts, EdVentures and the Mastercard Foundation aim to deepen the support available to Egyptian ed‑tech founders while strengthening links between technology, pedagogy and employability. The fellowship’s blended focus on business skills, financial resilience and the science of learning is intended to ready these companies for growth and greater impact in Egypt and beyond. As Dalia Ibrahim noted, the programme’s emphasis on partnership is central: sustaining momentum will depend on continued collaboration between investors, corporates, innovators and education stakeholders to scale solutions that improve learning and economic participation for youth.