A tablet-based foundational learning programme from Imagine Worldwide in Africa has won the inaugural Global EdTech Prize in the non-profits category. The programme was declared a winner at the World Schools Summit, held at Yasmina British Academy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Global EdTech Prize, founded in 2025 by T4 Education with the support of Owl Ventures and Digital Promise, recognises trailblazing tools grappling with the most crucial challenges in education.

According to the organisers, Brisk from Brisk Teaching in the United States also won the Global EdTech Prize in the Start-Ups category, while Matific Maths Game from Matific in Australia won the Global EdTech Prize in the Majors category.

Similarly, the Global Community of Practice from Team4Tech Foundation, which operates in many African countries, made the final three for the prize in the Non-Profits category.

Imagine Worldwide was established to address the literacy and numeracy crisis affecting millions of children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The firm partners with philanthropists, governments, organisations, and communities to provide child-directed, tablet-based learning that is accessible, effective, and affordable.

The firm is currently partnering with the governments of Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania to scale its tablet-based learning system country-wide.

Speaking on the prize, Founder, T4 Education, Vikas Pota, said, “Global EdTech Prize was founded to help scale the innovations that are making a real difference to the most intractable educational challenges, from enhancing literacy development to building lifelong skills, supporting social mobility, and closing learning gaps.”

Co-founder and Managing Partner, Owl Ventures, Amit Patel, congratulated Imagine Worldwide on winning the first-ever Global EdTech Prize and Team4Tech Foundation on making the final three.

He said: “By harnessing technology in the service of education, your work deserves recognition worldwide. I hope that through this prestigious award, policymakers, educators, and changemakers alike see the impact of your innovation and help scale the transformation we need.”

Imagine Worldwide’s learning solution is designed to operate in the most challenging environments, working without internet connectivity and requiring neither grid power nor highly skilled teachers.

Each primary school-aged child learns independently on a tablet – used by an average of five students per day for 30-60 minutes each. Tablets work without internet connectivity and are solar-powered.