ALX, Anthropic and the Government of Rwanda have launched a new education initiative that places a digital learning companion called Chidi at the centre of classroom reform across Africa.
The partnership aims to modernise how students learn and how teachers prepare lessons, starting with a large-scale pilot in Rwanda.
The programme builds on an earlier rollout among ALX learners across the continent. That first test phase recorded over 1,100 conversations and more than 4,000 interactions in just two days, a sign of early appetite for the tool.
The partners are now changing their attention to Rwanda’s public education system, where thousands of teachers, lecturers and selected civil servants will be provided with digital training designed to strengthen lesson planning, stimulate curiosity and raise teaching standards.
The core idea is instead of simply giving answers, Chidi guides users through questions that encourage deeper thinking. Teachers can use it to refine lesson structure or spark new classroom discussions, while students gain round-the-clock access to support that helps them reason through problems at their own pace.
Under the second phase of the programme, up to 2,000 Rwandan educators will take part in ALX’s AI Career Essentials training. Participants will receive hands-on exposure to tools provided through Anthropic’s Claude platform, along with a year’s access to Claude Pro, Claude Code and additional education-focused features once they complete the pilot.
A joint working group drawn from ALX, Anthropic and Rwanda’s government will track the outcomes. Their findings will help build Rwanda’s national direction on technology in education, including the development of future tools such as Chidi for Schools and potential models suited to African languages.
Beyond the classroom impact, the collaboration aims to strengthen Rwanda’s long-term technical readiness. Several ministries are providing policy support, access to institutions and a framework to scale the initiative without taking on financial obligations.
The partners view this as a model that can be adopted by neighbouring countries. Rwanda is effectively serving as the first testing ground for a system designed to support both teaching and public-sector work, while enabling Africa to develop solutions that match global standards.
Fred Swaniker, ALX’s founder and CEO, noted the vision of the programme.
“This collaboration marks a bold step in redefining how African talent learns, works, and leads in the age of AI,” he said. “Through our partnership with Anthropic and the Government of Rwanda, we are ensuring that Africa’s youth are not just consumers of AI, but creators, shaping the innovations that will define the global economy.”
The initiative supports Rwanda’s goal of building a workforce prepared for future industries, while giving African students and educators access to tools typically concentrated in global tech hubs.
The partners intend to expand the programme once the pilot concludes and the impact becomes measurable.
