Co-creation HUB (CcHUB), Nigeria's first innovation centre and technology hub, has partnered with the Mastercard Foundation to select 12 Nigerian startups for the fourth cohort of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship.

The fellowship is an 18-month accelerator programme designed to support early-stage education technology companies building solutions for learners. Each selected startup will receive up to $100,000 in equity-free funding, along with structured technical assistance spanning product development, communications, and business strategy. The equity-free structure is particularly notable in Nigeria's startup ecosystem, where early-stage founders often face pressure to give up significant ownership stakes in exchange for capital.

While the fellowship continues its broader mission of backing African EdTech startups, this year's cohort places a particular emphasis on founders addressing educational barriers faced by learners with disabilities, internally displaced persons (IDPs), underserved and rural communities, girls and young women, as well as those developing education and workforce data systems. The focus areas align with persistent gaps in Nigerian education, where millions of children remain out of school and access to quality learning varies sharply across regions and demographics.

"Cohort 4 was designed around the belief that the most important decisions about inclusion are made at the earliest stages of innovation," said Nissi Madu, Managing Partner at CcHUB. "This cohort represents founders who are building with this understanding at the core of their solutions. Our role is to help them test, refine, and generate evidence for their solutions while building sustainable businesses that can scale their impact."

The 12 startups are organized across four thematic focus areas:

• Learners with disabilities: TrainDTrainer Ltd, Talktu, DAWN AI STUDY, and Efiwe are developing solutions tailored to this group.
• Underserved, rural, and displacement-affected communities: Ileemore Technologies Limited, Skillup Africa, and Lena are working to expand access to education in these areas.
• Girls and young women: Heels and Tech, NursePadi, Skilladder AI, and Lalitah are focused on improving participation, skills development, and economic opportunities.
• Education and workforce data systems: Ribara Analytica is building data infrastructure to strengthen education planning and improve pathways from learning to employment.

In addition to funding and technical assistance, the fellowship equips founders with media readiness support and stakeholder engagement infrastructure, helping to increase the visibility of their work among partners, funders, and the communities they serve.

"At its best, EdTech does not just digitize education; it redistributes opportunity, and that's where the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship comes in," said Wariko Waita, Director of the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) at the Mastercard Foundation. "The Fellowship sits at the intersection of three powerful forces — education system transformation, inclusive technology-enabled solutions, and sustainability of Africa's EdTech entrepreneurship."

Launched in 2019, the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship has supported 72 companies across Africa to date, collectively reaching more than 700,000 new learners, 89% of whom are children and young people. The programme forms part of a wider wave of accelerator and funding initiatives targeting African EdTech, a sector that has drawn growing investor and development-finance attention as governments and organisations seek technology-driven responses to entrenched educational challenges across the continent.