Improving educational outcomes on the African continent is not achievable without a strong community intent on changing the status quo. To make progress in addressing the daunting challenges facing the education sector across Africa, stakeholders across the board need to rally together. Injini’s ecosystem development programmes aim to build up capacity amongst entrepreneurs and future changemakers in the sector.

Injini has been running virtual EdTech Bootcamp’s since 2020. This time, the Injini team is looking for ideation stage EdTech entrepreneurs who are making Education Accessible for all by building EdTech solutions designed to reach the hard-to-reach. Up to 10 solutions will be selected to participate in the programme that will run from 31 August to 16 September 2021, with the entire programme requiring a time commitment of approximately 30 hours. This time will be spent completing the pre-coursework and assigned deliverables, engaging in virtual workshops and collaborating with your teammates.

Bootcamp Programme Structure.

Pre-Programme

Before starting the Bootcamp, selected participants will be required to work through an Injini-created course called “Fundamentals for African EdTech Entrepreneurs”. The course is composed of four topics, but participants will only be required to complete two of the four. The mandatory topics are focused on the Myths & Evidence in Education and the Business Model Canvas, the other two topics are optional (but beneficial if you have time to complete them).

Completing the assigned modules will help ensure that everyone participating in the programme is more or less on the same level and has considered the most fundamental aspects of their potential businesses. The course will be accessible to selected participants for about one week before the programme begins and they will have up until the sessions in Week 2 (27 August 2021) to make their way through the content.

Programme Structure

The programme will take place virtually and will require all participants to have a stable internet connection. Up to three members of each solution’s team may participate, but at least one team member must be able to commit to attending all of the programmatic sessions.

The programme includes three workshops covering the following topics:

• Startup Strategy (Understanding the key influencers on any business).
• Customer Value (Creating a solution based on user and customer needs).
• How to Pitch your Startup (Preparing for the final pitch at the end of the programme).

Most of the workshops will result in the assignment of a deliverable that is a practical application of the content that was covered. All participants will be required to complete and submit the deliverables for feedback. The programme has been designed to allow for ample time to complete all required activities.

Download the full programme here.

Programmatic Support

Throughout the programme, participants will be receiving support from the Injini team. Support will come in the form of workshop facilitation plus written and/or verbal feedback on the deliverables submitted by participants. Some one-on-one video calls may be arranged with select participants.

Winning Prize

The programme will culminate with a pitch competition to a panel of judges, allowing each participant to present their progress (both during the programme, but also to date) and other key factors of the solution/business.

The winner, who will be determined based on their performance throughout the programme and the pitch itself, will receive a cash prize of R5,000.

Criteria for participating in the programme.

• You must be based in sub-Saharan Africa and with your primary target market also based in the region.
• You are an ideation (or very early) stage EdTech entrepreneur or an aspiring entrepreneur with a tech-enabled idea addressing challenges of access to education for the hard-to-reach, from K-12 to post-secondary.
• You may or may not have a prototype or minimum viable product (MVP) that you’ve begun testing.
• Your solution is likely to be pre-revenue (but some post-revenue solutions may also be eligible).
• You are able to commit to the time expectations outlined above.
• You are excited to learn and believe you will benefit from participating in this programme.

If you fit the above criteria, follow this link to apply for the programme.

The deadline for applications is the 23rd of August 2021.

To learn more information about the programme dates for the Injini African EdTech Virtual Bootcamp, download the calendar here or email Injini.