Habari Reader,

Happy New Month!

Change comes with different emotions for me, anxiety about what the future will look like, and deep gratitude, respect and honour for what has been.

We lost H.E. Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga on October 15, 2025. Jowi! Jowi! Jowi! I hope that you are allowing yourself to grieve for everything that has been brought to the surface in the last few weeks and are holding space for yourself in ways that make sense to you. Perhaps a cup of uji? A favourite song?

Find out what's happening, opportunities, and resources in the EdTech Space in Africa. Please forward EdTech Jalada to an EdTech enthusiast in your circle!

What's Happening

• Thando Gumede, a former maths and science teacher, has created South Africa’s humanoid AI teaching robot. Watch this feature and let me know your thoughts? 😀 Are we ready for this? AI Iris will be used in classrooms from 2026. Note: Iris is the one on the right in the image below. She is not the lady!

• We have relaunched the Nairobi EdTech MeetUps! A space for EdTech practitioners to meet and connect with other ecosystem players in person to showcase their work, get feedback and continue the conversations that happen during the EdTech Summits. Join us on Wednesday, 26 November 2025 for the next one.
• Acumen East Africa is undertaking a social impact study to understand the current landscape of social impact reporting among organisations in the education sector in the region. Please spare 15 minutes to fill the survey below.

• More than 50% of Grade 9 learners have selected the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) Pathway. What does this mean for schools’ capacity and learners’ future? Read more here.
• Kenya’s Elly Savatia is the winner of the Africa Prize for Engineering. He was awarded £50,000 to scale his innovation Signvrse which makes communication inclusive for the deaf community. Congratulations to Elly and we look forward to how Signvrse will be used in education.

• Education stakeholders convened in Moyale in October to discuss and strengthen digital learning practices and collaboration in the Frontier Counties. The Blended Learning Approaches Workshop was organised by the Frontier Counties Development Council and UNICEF Kenya. Read more here.
• Tukuze Afrika is hosting their Innovators Incubation Program 2025 from November 3-November 7, 2025 at Meru University Kenya. This initiative equips student innovators with education/mentorship to make their innovations sustainable and market ready.
• Our very own, Nyapara Wanjiku, attended The South African EdTech Week from October 28 - October 30, 2025 in CapeTown. A convening that explored what being EdTech-ready means in African contexts. More on this to come.

Opportunities

NIRU AI Hackathon 2025

Submit your innovative AI solutions across 6 thematic areas: education, cybersecurity, healthcare, agriculture, smart cities, environment for a chance to win millions in prizes for your work. Register here by November 28, 2025.

Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

Are you interested in higher education? Apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.
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Resources

Gain some insights from this article on "How to avoid past edtech pitfalls as we begin using AI to scale impact in education."

Read "What you need to know about AI and the right to education" in this report by UNICEF.

And, if you work in the education sector in Kenya, read "Learning what matters in Kenya" a report about the transition from 8-4-4 to the CBC system.

Until next time,

Have fun!

Nyarinda :)

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Nairobi, Kenya
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