Ribara Analytica Secures $100,000 Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship

Funmi Ogundare 

Ribara Analytica has been selected as one of 12 early-stage Nigerian startups for the fourth cohort of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech fellowship, securing access up to $100,000 in equity-free funding under the 18-month programme.

The fellowship, implemented by Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) in partnership with the foundation, is designed to support innovative education technology ventures with funding, technical assistance and opportunities to scale their impact.

Beyond the financial support, participating startups will receive structured assistance in product development, communications and business strategy, as well as access to CcHUB’s network of sector stakeholders and a framework for developing and documenting evidence of impact.

The Managing Partner of CcHUB, Nissi Madu, said the 12 founders were selected based not only on the strength of their solutions but also on their understanding of the communities and populations they seek to serve.

Emphasising the fellowship, she stated that  the fourth cohort was built around the need to promote inclusion from the earliest stages of innovation.

“Cohort four was designed around the belief that the most important decisions about inclusion are made at the earliest stages of innovation,” Madu said.

She added that CcHUB would support the selected startups to test and refine their solutions, generate evidence of their effectiveness and build sustainable businesses capable of scaling their impact.

The 12 startups selected for the cohort are working across four thematic areas, including inclusive education for learners living with disabilities, expanding access to quality learning in underserved communities, increasing participation and economic opportunities for girls and young women, as well as strengthening education and workforce data systems.

Ribara Analytica falls under the fourth thematic area, where it is developing tools aimed at strengthening the connection between education and employment through improved labour market and higher education data.

The organisation was founded by a team with backgrounds from Covenant University and Harvard University. Its co-founder, Prof. Ada Peter, is a Harvard University graduate who has held several leadership positions at Covenant University.

Peter also chairs the African Higher Education Curriculum Conference (AHECC), an initiative of Ribara that brings together university leaders and industry stakeholders to promote continuous, agile and evidence-based curriculum reform.

The fellowship is expected to provide Ribara Analytica with an opportunity to further develop its technology and strengthen its evidence base as it works to help higher education institutions align curricula with evolving labour market demands.