Welcome to EdWell! A newsletter for leaders transforming education systems in the Global South.
Hi friends,
It has been a strange year for all of us. Our world was disrupted by COVID, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the climate crisis. On a personal level, my own life was transformed by being run over a boat and the journey of recovery. But I’m excited to share a new labor of love that will hopefully offer useful resources and inspiration during these challenging times.
This is the first in a new email newsletter for people leading and funding education reform and innovations across Latin America, Africa, and South Asia. Each issue will share articles from my Medium publication and links, including:
TOOLS: practical resources to strengthen your work.
LESSONS LEARNED: wisdom from leaders on the frontlines.
HIDDEN HISTORY: moments that shaped education systems.
BULLETIN BOARD: jobs, events, media, and funding opportunities (to see more frequent posts in between newsletters, Follow me on LinkedIn, where I share links from this section in real-time).
You’re on this list because you signed up for my previous newsletter, or I thought you might be interested. Feel free to unsubscribe using the link at the end of this email.
I write to you in quarantine before grad school at Oxford. As someone who was a teacher, it is odd to think that I will be “back to school” soon—unlike the many children around the world whose education has been halted due to COVID. Sending strength and good energy to you all as you try to ensure that kids keep learning.
Warmly,
Kat
kat@edwell.io
12 Steps to Fundraise for an Education Venture in Africa
A guide for entrepreneurs just starting out, who are launching new ed nonprofits or companies—with advice from seasoned founders and funders. Teaches them how to use tools like: bootstrapping, elevator pitch/pitch deck, LinkedIn profile, events, networks, advisory council, prospect list, friends/family, local sources (companies/philanthropists/govt), submitting applications online, warm intros, and face-to-face meetings. Send this to those new entrepreneurs who email you asking to “pick your brain” :)
65 Foundations & Investors Who Fund Education Ventures in Africa
For edupreneurs who are fundraising grants or investment—a list of funders deploying capital to support ed reforms/innovations across the continent. The list splits funders into early-stage, growth, scale, and govt partnerships; it includes websites, focus areas, ticket sizes, names of key staff, and their LinkedIn profiles. Controversial to put this list out there, but every entrepreneur builds their own similar list anyway, so let’s just save everybody time by making the info transparent. We know that fundraising is biased; the entrepreneurs who are more privileged, male, and/or white end up with more financial capital. Let’s make it more fair and efficient.
Lant Pritchett on 5 Ways We Can Learn From Biology to Shift Education Systems
A summary of key insights from The Rebirth of Education—the most important book on why ed reforms in the Global South fail, and what we can do about it. I recommend this book all the time, but almost no one reads it, because it’s a dense 240 pages. If you’re too busy to read the book, take 13 minutes to read this cheat sheet! It simplifies the book into 5 easy-to-grasp concepts: spiders, mimicry, monoculture, evolution, and starfish. This book blew my mind, and I hope it makes you question your assumptions about how we improve our schools. Lant is now doing brilliant work documenting ed systems change in 7 countries at the RISE Program.
How Kenya Became the Strongest Education System in Africa
Since 2008, Kenya has led the way as a hub for ed innovation for the Global South, with groundbreaking edtech, school models, nonprofits, and govt reforms. It has the strongest ed outcomes of any country in mainland Africa, 1st out of 43 (as covered by my 2018 piece in BRIGHT Magazine). This article tells the story of how Kenya became this way and led the forefront of ed reform since the 1920’s. Spotlights 10 moments: from Kikuyu boycotts of missionary schools, to Alliance and the Airlifts training post-independence leaders, the Silicon Savannah and the rise of edtech, and more. Read this for a primer on the visionary Kenyan leaders who reimagined what was possible for schools long before “innovation” became trendy.
Jobs
Exciting CEO/ED roles at: Abaarso Network, Amani Institute, Moringa School, African SOUP, Tanzania ECD Network
Other jobs: Instill, AL Group, Anzisha Prize, Ubongo, Global Schools Forum, Kepler, Violence Prevention Through Urban Upgrading, Girl Effect, Teach for All, Arifu, the Edtech Hub Expert Pool
And at funders: Injini, Mastercard Foundation, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Bernard van Leer Foundation, ELMA Philanthropies
Events
Global Schools Forum’s annual meeting will be virtual this year on Oct 14-15.
Mastercard Foundation & Edtech East Africa host monthly Edtech Monday webinars.
ALA, two Lead for Ghana schools, & others will showcase their approaches at Global Education Week on Oct 5-9.
Segal Foundation had their annual conference virtually.
Ashesi Education Collaborative on higher ed had their annual conference.
Media
Metis curated a list of 200 resources for teachers/parents during COVID; more resources from Ubongo, Rising on Air, Bridge, Nova Pioneer.
Insights for Education has an interesting report out about lessons from 6 months of school closures/reopenings.
The Education in Developing Nations podcast has great interviews with Fred Swaniker/Chris Bradford of AL Group (my former bosses!) & policymakers like George Werner of Liberia and Dzingai Mutumbuka of Zimbabwe.
Imaginable Futures and UNICEF have a new podcast out about ed during COVID, Learning to Overcome—2nd episode with Ubongo & Khan Academy. IF also has a neat report out about reimagining ed during the world’s disruption.
Fascinating analysis of One Laptop Per Child & the complexities of edtech in The Juggernaut.
Photo essay from the New York Times about hard-to-reach schools in Chile.
Insightful interview with the Founder of Imagine Scholar in South Africa on the PilotED podcast.
Essay on lessons from 10 years of Harambee by Sharmi Surianarain.
Essay on navigating mental health while being a founder from Claire Mongeau in Kenya.
ALA’s Anzisha Prize put out case studies for teachers to support their students to see entrepreneurship as a career path; they publish a newsletter for educators.
In-depth analysis of the inside story of Andela by Alex Kantrowitz from BuzzFeed.
Shasha Network published the 100 Letters Project, with neat reflections on education & career advice from Zimbabwean youth.
Opportunities
Metis, Injini & Edtech East Africa are running a bootcamp for edtech innovators.
Africa Early Childhood Network recruited for their Research Fellowship.
Jakes Gerwel Fellowship recruited for their 2020 cohort.
(Some deadlines for opportunities may have passed by the date of EdWell’s publication).
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