Chalkboard Education, a Ghana-based mobile learning company, has closed $236,072 (EUR 200’000) in expansion financing from Jacobs Foundation to further expand its operations in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, including increasing access to its mobile learning tools for rural and remote populations.
“Education technology is a very important tool for accompanying the transformation of African educational systems,“ says Fabio Segura, Director of International Programs for the Jacobs Foundation. “We are excited to add Chalkboard Education to our group of partners dedicated to improving access to and the quality of education in Ivory Coast through the TRECC program.”
Chalkboard Education has already served over 1’000 students in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire and in 2016 was the winner of Seedstars Ghana and was selected as one of the best African start-ups at the prestigious Seedstars Global Conference. Founded in 2015, Chalkboard Education partners with universities, training institutions, and companies to provide software that digitalizes their content and distributes it to learners’ mobile devices, allowing students to access course content anytime and anywhere, even without an Internet connection.
Chalkboard Education’s innovative technology allows organizations to expand their education programs through digital distance learning programs that are accessible to any type of phone. “Our mission is to democratize access to education and training in Africa,” said Adrien Bouillot, CEO and co-founder of Chalkboard Education.
McKinsey estimates that Africa needs to train 1 million students per year over the next 10 years to meet its growth targets. However, the current infrastructure does not accommodate so many students.
