Programme pillar 2 of 3 · Digital platforms
Africa Digital Education Initiative
Digital platforms and AI tools that expand the access, quality, and relevance of African education
The problem
Africa cannot close its education access and quality gap through conventional means alone. There are 97.5 million out of school children on the continent (UNESCO, 2024), a projected teacher deficit of 15 million by 2030 (UNESCO-UIS, 2023), and TVET institutions reaching fewer than 15 percent of the youth who need them (UNESCO-UNEVOC, 2022). Building enough classrooms and training enough teachers on the conventional model would take decades the continent does not have. At the same time, 78 percent of Ethiopians lack reliable internet access (ITU, 2023), which means any digital response designed for high bandwidth conditions will reach the learners who need it least.
What this pillar does
ADEI is the education leapfrogging objective of the AU Digital Transformation Strategy rendered as deliverable programmes. Five sub projects build the platform layer, the content pipeline, the AI tooling, and the connectivity substrate as one system rather than five separate products.
Every platform is specified offline capable, mobile first, and multilingual at the design stage rather than retrofitted. Content produced under any one sub project publishes to the others at no additional content cost.
A transversal execution and data architecture underpins all five sub projects: a portfolio KPI framework, layered operational dashboards for donors, learners, and administrators, an LMS strategy built on mobile first and offline synchronising foundations, and an AI and data strategy with human oversight throughout.
Two proposals are complete and donor ready. P2.1 AI powered TVET Digital Library requests USD 3.2 million over 30 months for an offline capable library of 500 TVET courses across 8 sector tracks for 10,000 students and 500 instructors in Ethiopia. P2.2 African Learning Planet requests USD 4.75 million over 36 months to establish the continental hub across 55 AU member states.
Sub project portfolio
| # | Sub project | Core objective | Pilot target | Phase & status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P2.1 | AI powered TVET Digital Library | Offline capable digital library of 500 TVET courses across 8 sector tracks, with five AI features including personalised pathways and Amharic natural language search | Ethiopia: 10,000 students, 500 instructors, 50 institutions | Phase 1, 2026–2027Proposal complete — USD 3.2 million |
| P2.2 | African Learning Planet (ALP) | Continental hub for learning materials, teacher resources, community of practice, and validated African and international content | Continental: all 55 AU member states | Phase 1, 2026–2027Proposal complete — USD 4.75 million |
| P2.3 | African Digital Library Next Generation | Two AI personalised platforms, Higher Education and K-12, offering up to 100,000 e books with scaffolding technology, reading statistics, and offline access | Continental: K-12 and Higher Education | Phase 2, 2027–2028In development |
| P2.4 | AI for Learning Assessment and Early Warning | Detection of comprehension gaps, dropout risk, and curriculum misalignment, generating actionable data for teachers, school leaders, and national authorities | Ethiopia: 40 schools; platform wide from Year 2 | Phase 2, 2027–2028In development |
| P2.5 | Digital Inclusion and Connectivity Infrastructure | Offline capable delivery, solar powered device hubs, and low bandwidth platform architecture for rural and peri urban schools | Ethiopia: 40 schools and TVET institutions | Phase 2, 2027–2028In development |
Sequencing logic
Sequencing reflects platform dependency. P2.1 and P2.2 are built first because the TVET library and the continental hub are the substrate the remaining three sub projects publish into. P2.3 then extends the content layer, P2.4 the intelligence layer, and P2.5 the access layer, in that order, because each assumes the platforms beneath it are already live.
How this pillar connects to the other pillars
P2.1 courses publish simultaneously to P2.2 at no additional content cost. P2.2 hosts content from P1.3 Foundational Learning, P1.4 Inclusive Learning Materials, and P3.1 RTR teacher training modules. P2.3 supplies the e book layer behind P1.4 and professional reading for P3.2. P2.4 generates data for P1.7 and P3.5. P2.5 infrastructure carries P1.6 Education Continuity in Crisis.
Delivery credibility and funding
CAFOR is hosted at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in January 2019, and participates in the CESA 2026–2035 Digital Education and Artificial Intelligence Cluster. Established partnerships include ATUPA, the European Business University of Luxembourg, WFPD, and the State of the African Diaspora. Accounts are subject to dual audit, external and AU Commission.
P2.1 and P2.2 together represent a committed ask of USD 7.95 million. P2.3, P2.4, and P2.5 fall within an indicative range of USD 3 million to USD 10 million each. Priority donor targets include the Gates Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, Google.org, the EU Digital and Global Gateway instruments, and AfDB.
Dr. Lawalley Cole, Executive Director — l.cole@cafor.org · Mr. Kaleb Amare Abay, Programme Officer — k.abay@cafor.org · +251-96-783-3709