AI Transforms Learning Across Africa Through Localized Tools

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how learners, teachers, and creators engage with education across the continent. A new wave of AI innovation transforming learning across countries on the African continent — from chat-based tutors to hybrid hubs and gamified farms.

“Sometimes the best way to grasp a concept,” says Chris Folayan, co-founder and executive officer of Luma Learn, “is to learn it in your native language.”

Seventeen-year-old South African Simphiwe is one of more than 10,000 learners using Luma Learn, an AI-powered tutor platform. For him, artificial intelligence isn’t abstract: it is a patient, consistent, and always-available personal tutor.

When on his phone, he’s often studying physics with Luma Learn, which responds instantly—even in IsiZulu, his mother tongue.

Across Africa, innovators like Folayan, Nthanda Manduwi, and Anie Akpe are reimagining education: localised, practical, and accessible to anyone with a phone or internet connection. Together, they are building a new learning ecosystem where AI multiplies teachers’ reach rather than replacing them.

Nthanda Manduwi: Turning Digital Skills into Interactive Ecosystems

“I’ve always believed technology can democratize opportunity,” says Nthanda Manduwi, founder of Digital Skills for Africa (DSA) and Q2 Corporation. “AI gives us a chance to leapfrog barriers like infrastructure gaps and unequal access to training.”

Manduwi’s journey began with DSA, providing young people with practical tech skills from AI and automation to no-code tools and digital marketing.

“Our courses, like ‘Effective Use of AI’ and ‘AI and the Future of Digital Marketing,’ help learners not only understand AI but apply it,” she explains. “You leave with real, marketable skills.”

Scaling revealed challenges many edtech startups face. “Enthusiasm alone doesn’t pay the bills,” Manduwi says. Low willingness to pay even from institutions led her to create Q2 Corporation, linking learning with livelihood. Under Q2, Kwathu Farms offers a gamified agricultural simulator where users test farm management, supply chains, and business models before investing real money.

“AI makes learning immersive,” Manduwi adds. “Simulations show how weather or market changes affect yield, turning agriculture into both a classroom and a business lab.” Q2’s proprietary engines, NoxTrax and AgroTrax, apply AI to real-time logistics and resource management. “AI isn’t just for coders—it’s for farmers, small businesses, anyone who wants to think and plan intelligently.”

Anie Akpe: Creating Spaces Where AI Meets Human Creativity

Anie Akpe builds spaces for learning and innovation. Through African Women in Technology (AWIT) and Lumo Hubs, she has helped innovators, especially women, turn curiosity into competence.

“With AWIT, we organized conferences to create safe spaces for women to learn skills like digital literacy, coding, and entrepreneurship,” she recalls. Male students soon joined, and Akpe realized her mission was broader: giving Africans a place in a rapidly changing digital world.

Lumo Hubs combine education, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Students learn AI-assisted design, production planning, and content creation in hybrid physical-digital spaces, allowing small towns to host hubs. Sustainability is key: community members pay, students pay less, ensuring continuous learning.

Mentorship remains central. “AI scales learning, but mentorship builds confidence,” Akpe says. “It empowers young people to create opportunities rather than wait for them.”

Chris Folayan: A Tutor That Never Sleeps

Folayan founded Luma Learn after noting that Africa faces both access and teaching gaps. According to UNESCO, Sub-Saharan Africa will need 15 million new teachers in five years. “Classrooms with over 100 students per teacher can’t give every child help,” he says. Luma Learn steps in as an AI tutor that runs on WhatsApp, not a separate app.

“WhatsApp is already on most phones, free to use, works on low bandwidth, and keeps data safe,” Folayan explains. Luma adapts to learners’ grade levels, curricula, and languages. “Whether algebra in English or history in Swahili, Luma teaches, quizzes, and explains at your level.”

Success stories abound. In Durban, a mother said her son, after years of illness and missed schooling, caught up using Luma Learn. Simphiwe sent over 1,200 messages to Luma, calling it “the personal teaching assistant I desperately needed.”

Shared Goals: One Vision, Many Pathways

Three innovators. Three models. One purpose: make AI work for Africa’s learners. Key threads include:

Access – From WhatsApp tutors to open learning hubs to gamified ecosystems.

Localisation – Learning in local languages, familiar tools, and community realities.

Empowerment – Linking knowledge to opportunity.

From Manduwi’s gamified farms to Akpe’s creative hubs and Folayan’s WhatsApp tutor, future classrooms are decentralized, digital, and deeply human.

Manduwi sums it up: “AI must fit our systems, not be imported.” Akpe adds: “Africa has talent; it lacks platforms that meet learners where they are.” Folayan concludes: “No teacher wants a student left behind. AI ensures no one is.”

Across Durban, Uyo, and Lilongwe, students are already learning, designing, and testing real-world skills. As Akpe says, “The vision is simple: a generation that doesn’t just survive AI disruption but thrives because of it.”