The pledge invites individuals, organizations, EdTech startups, and communities to collaborate in supporting literacy in mother tongues and beyond, ensuring no one is left behind.

The initiative is supported by leading EdTech startups Genti Media, Nkenne, and Topset. Michael Odokara-Okigbo of Nkenne said, “Language is culture and it links people to their heritage. So it is very important to learn our native languages and to connect people.” 

Frank Akinwande Williams from Topset added, “The written language and communications is the easiest and most comprehensive way of storing language, culture and our collective stories.”

Ojiugo Uche of Genti Media highlighted, “When we look at educational policy it recommends initial learning in people’s local languages.”

The Global Literacy Pledge launched by CcHUB reiterates the importance of multilingual education in preserving cultural heritage and empowering communities.

Chinyelu Akpa, Practice Lead at re:learn, noted, “Africa has over three thousand languages; however only a few of these languages are used to support teaching and learning. At CcHUB we are constantly supporting EdTech organizations seeking to leverage technology to break barriers and promote multilingual literacy across the continent.”

By signing the Global Literacy Pledge, participants commit to actions such as supporting multilingual learning, promoting inclusive education, and volunteering to teach or mentor in multiple languages.

To join the movement, visit Global Literacy Pledge and make your commitment today. Each pledge contributes to a world where every language is valued and every learner is empowered.

With the fund, CcHub seeks to support 72 startups across Nigeria and Kenya over the next three years. The accelerator program will support and amplify the impact of edtech startups across Africa, as well as support founders offering tech solutions that will address challenges of learning innovation in the educational sector.

The innovation centre, dedicated to accelerating the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity, wants to ensure students and parents better utilize technology for learning and scaling.

Startups in Nigeria and Kenya, are CcHub’s focus, where it will leverage the fast-growing edtech sector in both markets. So far, CcHUB has run several edtech initiatives and backed edtech startups through its incubation and accelerator programs. 

CcHub believes this move will kickstart the bloom of the edtech ecosystem to extend the lifespan of these startups and downscale the chances of failure. 

The Edtech Fellowship program will accept 24 startups, 12 each from Nigeria and Kenya annually. They will receive $100,000 initial capital points and the remaining capital will be used for other resources in the accelerator, including personnel costs and provision of support capital to startups as they progress.

Outside the accelerator program, there’s also a provision for follow-on investment that will offer diversification and lower risk for seed or Series A investors. 

The follow-on capital will come from a $50 million edtech fund CcHUB plans to launch within the next 12-24 months; an anchor investor has committed an initial $5 million. The innovation hub is in talks with telcos like Safaricom and MTN to explore arrangements that could see them become not only investors in the fund but also distribution partners for edtech solutions in the Fellowship’s portfolio.

Kwaba makes home financing easy by enabling savings via convenient monthly instalments and instant loan provision. The new fund will open doors for more people to access the fintech company’s solution.

Obinna Molokwu founded the digital platform in January 2020 to help Nigerians reduce the difficulty encountered in this aspect of rent payment, through innovative solutions that reflect their financial reality.

Added to its services offerings, Kwaba offers apartment search services, quick funds at affordable rates, and further credit facilities for the purchase of properties. Kwaba affirms to have had rent payment requests of N115 billion, with over 30,000 customers since inception. Its mobile app, released in August 2021, has garnered almost 2,000 downloads.

The company’s instant loans are up to 40% of customers’ rent savings, which are insured by NDIC and secured with bank-grade security features. Kwaba works with PCIDSS compliant payment processors to ensure users’ money and data are safe and fraud-proof. Its partners also include ARM, AXA Mansard and Paystack.

Kwaba’s undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding came from Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) among other investors, having received investment from Ingressive Capital in 2020. The startup also took part in the LABS by ARM accelerator held in 2020, receiving $20,000 in additional funding. 

“Kwaba is helping to bridge the gap between property and finance. We understand the economic reality of Nigerian renters and have built our product to reflect this. We aim to improve the financial well-being of renters as we grow. For us, this new investment comes at a time when we are looking to strategically reposition and expand our services,” said Molukwu.