MEST Africa and Mastercard Foundation Hold 2024 EdTech Stakeholder Meeting

The meeting brought together leading educators, innovators, and industry experts to discuss the transformative power of technology in education

On Thursday, 5th September, Mastercard Foundation and MEST Africa hosted an EdTech Stakeholder Event in Accra, Ghana. The meeting brought together leading educators, innovators, and industry experts to discuss the transformative power of technology in education to source expert insights and recommendations that will provide a strategic framework for integrating technology into the national education system.

Event Overview
The event began with a welcome address from Olufemi Adewumi, Programs Director, MEST Africa.

In his opening remarks he stated, “At MEST Africa, we believe that collaboration is key to driving impactful change in the education sector. This forum has provided an invaluable opportunity for diverse stakeholders to come together and co-create a roadmap that will not only accelerate the adoption of edtech in Ghana but will also foster an ecosystem that will deliver innovative solutions that will reduce the education gap.”

Randolph Ampofoh, Africa Lead for EdTech Hub, gave an overview of what the audience was to expect throughout the day at the forum and what was hoped to be achieved in the end.

Suraj Shah, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Policy and Thought Leadership, Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning at the Mastercard Foundation also gave his opening remarks at the event and outlined how Mastercard Foundation was helping to collaborate and build with ecosystem players, especially MEST Africa, to help push EdTech in Ghana.

He remarked: “Education systems need to evolve to be more resilient and technology-enabled to withstand future shocks similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. An adaptive and inclusive EdTech strategy is fundamental; developing those strategies requires that we include voices of stakeholders in building roadmaps and strategies.

Through Forums like this one, we believe that we can formulate policies that resonate with the needs of the education ecosystem”.

Nana Gyamfi Adwabour, Executive Director for Centre For National Distance Learning and Open Schooling (CENLOS) also gave his opening remark discussing efforts ongoing to develop policies to integrate EdTech.

He also announced that the Ministry of Education was working on rolling out a TV channel focused on solely education later this year.

Mr Adwabour was followed by Kingsley Boachie, Senior Research Assistant at the Ministry of Education, who conducted an interactive session called Aligning EdTech Interventions with National Goals where he discussed EdTech initiatives and the policies being put in place for promoting EdTech.

Rounding up the speakers was Ama Blankson, Senior Education Specialist at the World Bank who spoke up about the World Bank Education and Technology Readiness Index which is currently being completed in Ghana. The Index is expected to be released in November of this year.
The climax of the forum featured roundtable discussions, breakout sessions, and an interactive workshop that provided a platform for stakeholders to share their experiences and contribute ideas for the future of EdTech in Ghana

“The discussions at the forum were incredibly insightful and empowering. The networking opportunities allowed us to connect with fellow innovators and decision-makers, sparking ideas that will help us scale our solutions and make a tangible difference in the education landscape. It’s encouraging to see a united effort to align our innovations with the nation’s educational goal,” said Anyele Perbi, Chief Executive Office, Perbi Cubs.

Looking Forward

The Mastercard Foundation remains committed to supporting the growth of Ghana’s EdTech sector and will continue to work closely with stakeholders to ensure that technology enhances learning outcomes for all students.

The event concluded with a networking session that facilitated connections among participants and fostered discussions on potential collaborations.

For more information about the EdTech Stakeholder Forum and upcoming initiatives, please visit MEST Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship – MEST (meltwater.org)