Having studied in Uganda, one has fresh memories of congested classroom particularly at Universities with courses having enrollments of up to 1000 students. Presently there’s a rise in technology adoption across the continent, and the field of education has also picked up on the wave.
Over the next three years the mobile learning market in Africa is expected to grow by 39%, with the e-learning market worth $530 million by next year.
Listed below are the top 10 e-learning platforms from Africa, as recorded by True Africa. Special Mention from Uganda Much as the platform didn’t make the list by True Africa, Somesa is a knowledge sharing, training aand collaborative eLearning platform produced by Ugandans. The platform can be used by students, institutions and consultants to share educational content and material with a specific or general audience. The Centre for Urban Development at Victoria University has tested the service.
OkpaBac (Togo)
A product of the Togolese start-up OkpaFaces, OkpaBac started in January this year to deliver to high-school students tremendous educational resources in preparation for the Baccalaureate exams. The Baccalaureate exam determines university admission for thousands of students in Togo, and across the western Francophone coast of Africa. OkpaBac translates into “you are done with the Baccalaureate” and the mobile app – available on Android for now – contains summaries of lessons, previous exam questions and quizzes. RELATED: What East African Countries Are Planning To Spend On Education.
Samaskull (Senegal)
Through Samaskull, users can access a database of unlimited educational materials. The platform is akin to Coursera, a giant in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The platform also provides Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs) for individuals who prefer one-to-one private lessons.
Eneza Education (Kenya)
Eneza acts as a virtual tutor and teacher’s assistant for thousands of Kenya-based students. From the Swahili term “to reach”, Eneza partners with schools in Kenya to track and assess students’ knowledge using mobile phones. Students access educational quizzes, a live ‘Ask-a-Teacher’ feature, offline access to Wikipedia, a dictionary and other learning materials via SMS. The platform is specifically geared towards Kenyan primary students in the upper primary grades as they prepare for the test (KCPE) crucial for their entry to secondary school. Using the high-quality content platform, students are able to hone and test their knowledge. RELATED: Over 20,000 Miss A Level In Tanzania.
Moringa School (Kenya)
Moringa School is a full-time, immersive coding school in Nairobi, Kenya. With a 6% acceptance rate – about a dozen admissions a year – Moringa has positioned itself as the premier coding school on the continent. 
Students undergo a four-month intense boot-camp training to become the next generation of ‘techies’. The school also offers an accelerator programme to improve their technical skills, learning different programming languages such as Javascript, HTML, CSS, Ruby on Rails, Android L or UI&UX Design. In addition, presentation skills and business fundamentals are additional modules to ensure that the learners are well-equipped upon ‘graduation’ from the school. Since its inception in 2004 Moringa has graduated 100 students, 59 per cent of whom earn a reported $23,000 annual salary. RELATED: The Role Of Education In Global Development.
Obami (South Africa)
This free-to-use social learning platform helps connect everyone in the learning space. Students can make a profile and connect with people from around the world, get news from schools, and submit school works. Obami Tutor, their mobile app that focuses on private tutoring was launched in 2014. The platform connects learners on their mobile phones to real-life qualified tutors. Obami Tutor revolutionizes the traditional model of private tutoring, by bringing quality and affordable tuition to any learner anywhere in South Africa.
Ubongo (Tanzania)
The Tanzanian social enterprise creates interactive edutainment for young learners in Africa, delivered via existing technologies. The main product, Ubongo Kids, is an educational cartoon broadcast daily on Tanzanian national TV that incites primary school kids to ‘tumia ubongo’ (to use your brain in Swahili) by teaching them math and sciences through animated stories and original songs. The children can use basic mobile phones to answer multiple-choice questions via SMS and they receive feedback from their favourite cartoon characters. Ubongo’s mission is to inspire the next generation of digital learners and thinkers and the model has already proven successful. Nine months following the official launch in 2014, Ubongo Kids reached 6 per cent of all households in Tanzania, with viewerships in one out of four homes with a working TV. RELATED: The Top e-Learning Platforms Transforming Africa
Tutor.ng (nigeria)
Tutor.ng is an online platform that connects learners and teachers from all over the world. Tutors come in various forms: they can be learners themselves, university affiliates or test preparation companies. The idea is to promote knowledge sharing across borders. It enables learners to build basic academic skills such as reading, spelling, history, science, creative arts as well as non-academic skills such as cooking or make-up tutorials.
Sterio.me (Nigeria)
The Nigerian startup provides a service using SMS to give students access to material and lessons they listen to outside the classroom. Teachers pre-record lectures, quizzes and questions and send them as for free by using a specific SMS code. Educators are notified when students have finished the lessons and receive their students’ respective performance. It saves them grading time, and they can provide immediate feedback to the students who ask for it. Sterio.me does not require internet access and can be accessed through any basic phone. In 2014, Sterio.me announced a strategic partnership with Tutor.ng in launching a full-stack mobile learning experience across Nigeria. It includes the SMS and voice-based mobile education services of Sterio.me and e-learning via the mobile web, Tutor.ng platform. RELATED: A Look At The Harkness Method Of Teaching
Daptio (South Africa)
By use of artificial intelligence, Daptio enables mentors and teachers to understand the proficiency level of each student. The goal is to find a model that allows students to receive the right content, leading to a more tailored education and higher grades. The start-up is quickly becoming influential in adaptive learning.
MEST (Ghana)
Founded in 2008, in Accra, Ghana, the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) provides training, investment and mentoring for the next generation of tech entrepreneurs who will create market tools needed for the integration of Africa in the global economy. Aspiring entrepreneurs receive a fully sponsored 12-month programme designed to teach them how to build tech businesses. The courses include computer programming, software development, product management, finance, marketing, sales and leadership.