Meet the 10 EdTech innovators on Africa’s business heroes 2026 list

Established in 2016 by Shrouk Alaa Eldin and Mohamed Akmal, Career 180 has become one of Egypt’s fastest-growing EdTech platforms.

Ten education-focused startups from across Africa and the MENA region — including Egypt’s Career 180, Nigeria’s FlexiSAF Edusoft, and Rwanda’s Africa Quantitative Sciences — have been named among the 2026 Africa’s Business Heroes Top 100, highlighting a wave of innovation in EdTech, vocational training, financing models and digital learning. Career 180, established in 2016 by Shrouk Alaa Eldin and Mohamed Akmal, is singled out as one of Egypt’s fastest-growing EdTech platforms, connecting students and recent graduates with mentors, employers and training opportunities across the Middle East and North Africa.

"Study Now, Pay Later," said Chancen International's guiding slogan, encapsulating the Income Share Agreement model the Kigali-based non-profit uses to expand access to higher education.

Ten organisations on the list

  • Africa Quantitative Sciences (AQS) — Rwanda: Founded by Hinda Ruton and based in Kigali, AQS converts unstructured data into digital solutions and has sponsored cybersecurity and technology programmes with partners including Carnegie Mellon University Africa and Johns Hopkins University.
  • BluLever Education — South Africa: Founded in 2019 by Jess Roussos and Adam Collier, BluLever offers industry-aligned apprenticeships that follow the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations framework and lead to NQF Level 4 certification and eligibility for the Red Seal trade test.
  • Career 180 — Egypt: Founded in 2016 by Shrouk Alaa Eldin and Mohamed Akmal, Career 180 delivers online courses, mentorship programmes and career guidance to improve employability for youth across MENA.
  • Chancen International — Rwanda: Founded in 2018 by Batya Blankers, Florian Kollewijn and Olaf Lampson, the organisation funds tuition through Income Share Agreements, with repayments linked to graduates’ earnings and paused if income falls below thresholds.
  • EYouth (Eyouth Co) — Egypt: Founded by Mustafa Abd Ellatif in 2016, EYouth offers interactive learning in entrepreneurship, technology and business and has expanded into Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq.
  • FlexiSAF Edusoft Limited — Nigeria: Founded in 2010 by Faiz Bashir, Alamin Ibrahim and Abubakar Manga, FlexiSAF builds school management systems that support student registration, fee management, transcript generation, online teaching and AI-powered course creation. Faiz Bashir also serves on an Edugist advisory board.
  • iSchool — Egypt: Founded in 2018 by Muhammad Gawish, Ibrahim Abdullah and Mustafa Abdelmoneim, iSchool teaches coding and digital skills to children aged 6–18 with courses in AI, VR, app and game development, Python, JavaScript and Scratch.
  • Lions Tutoring — Botswana: Founded by Thobo Khathola, Lions Tutoring operates a cross-border tutoring network with home tuition, learning centres and virtual platforms across Botswana, South Africa and Kenya.
  • Quartz Academy — India-focused online coaching: Founded by Nikhil Sherekar, Quartz specialises in Geology and Earth Sciences coaching for exams such as IIT JAM and CSIR NET.
  • UMAMI E-Learning Solutions — Egypt: Founded by Ahmed Seif El-Din, Ahmed Ghonim and Hatem Askar, UMAMI has delivered platforms to more than 10 million learners across over 25 countries, offering school management, TVET solutions and performance-tracking tools.

These organisations illustrate multiple approaches to education: from apprenticeship models and school administration digitisation to AI-powered course creation and income-contingent financing. Several — including BluLever’s QCTO-aligned curriculum and FlexiSAF’s administrative systems — emphasise formal accreditation and integration with national frameworks, while Chancen’s Income Share Agreement targets financial barriers to higher education.

Outlook: inclusion on the ABH Top 100 can accelerate visibility, partnerships and potential funding opportunities for these ventures. With demonstrated reach — UMAMI’s 10 million learners and FlexiSAF’s decade-long presence in Nigerian schools — the cohort is positioned to scale impact across national borders, align training to labour-market needs and advance digital capacity across the continent and the wider MENA region.