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XPRIZE and Equity Group Foundation Launch Accelerate Learning Prize
At the first G20 Social Summit held on African soil, XPRIZE Foundation and Equity Group Foundation (EGF) announced a major collaboration on the XPRIZE Accelerate Learning Prize.
The global competition aims to transform early childhood learning for millions of children across Africa and the Global South.
A $10 Million Prize to Transform Learning
The prize will reward practical, scalable innovations that help young learners achieve literacy and numeracy within one year.
Worth 10 million USD, it seeks solutions that deliver strong learning outcomes for the most students at the lowest cost.
The long-term goal is to reach 100 million children over the next decade.
XPRIZE and EGF signed a Letter of Intent to jointly design and champion the initiative, placing foundational learning at the centre of Africa’s economic transformation.
Africa’s Learning Crisis and Opportunity
Sub-Saharan Africa will be home to 40 percent of the world’s children by 2050. Yet more than 85 percent of ten-year-olds cannot read and understand a simple text.
This crisis threatens Africa’s ability to compete in a global economy built on digital literacy, scientific competence, and problem-solving.
Dr. James Mwangi, Executive Chairman of EGF, said the partnership marks a turning point.
“Africa’s demographic promise becomes a dividend only if we prepare our children for a future driven by science, technology, entrepreneurship, and governance.”
Building Africa’s Future Workforce
The Accelerate Learning Prize strengthens EGF’s broader agenda to equip youth with future-ready skills.
Today, EGF’s learning pathways link early literacy and numeracy to digital and STEM programs such as WorldQuant University, IamtheCODE and UNDP’s timbuktoo.
The new prize reinforces this pipeline, ensuring that children gain the cognitive foundation required for coding, AI literacy, and advanced problem-solving.
Professor Isaac Macharia, Group Board Chairman of Equity Group Holdings, emphasized urgency.
“Africa is poised to become the world’s next talent hub. That future depends on strong foundations.”
XPRIZE and Equity Group Foundation Launch Accelerate Learning Prize
A Moonshot for Early Learning
XPRIZE will award solutions that deliver the best learning outcomes at the most affordable cost.
“Education fuels human potential,” said Alexander Nicholas of XPRIZE. “If Africa’s children are to lead in the jobs of the future, we must start with early learning.”
Anchoring the Agenda at the G20 Social Summit
Announcing the competition at the G20 Social Summit elevates early learning as an economic priority, not just a social goal.
It aligns with Africa’s strategic agenda on digital transformation, innovation ecosystems, and enterprise development.
A Continental Vision for Transformation
The initiative is embedded within Equity Group’s Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan (ARRP) and its Private Sector Led Development Initiative. It strengthens Africa’s human capital through three key pillars:
Literacy and numeracy power modern sectors such as AI, cybersecurity, digital finance, agri-tech, manufacturing, and health innovation.
The prize complements programs like WorldQuant University, IamtheCODE, and UNDP’s timbuktoo, which build Africa’s STEM and digital workforce.
With stronger foundational skills, Africa’s youth will drive regional industrialisation and anchor knowledge-intensive industries.
A Call to Innovators
XPRIZE and EGF will invite innovators, educators, researchers, EdTech builders and public institutions to participate.
“This is an invitation to shape the workforce of the future,” Dr. Mwangi said. “It begins with the youngest learners.”
By linking XPRIZE Accelerate Learning with EGF’s existing programs, the partnership creates a full pathway from early learning to opportunity, enterprise, and economic mobility.
Professor Isaac Macharia noted that regions investing in foundational learning today will shape tomorrow’s global economy.
The Accelerate Learning Prize strengthens Africa’s entire education-to-enterprise pipeline, preparing youth to step confidently into advanced learning and leadership.
XPRIZE Accelerate Learning stands as an intergenerational investment a long-term commitment to Africa’s future.
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