Rya Kuewor, the CEO of the RIO Foundation, has emphasised the importance of finding strategic partners in a bid to expand education opportunities for refugees in Ghana.
Speaking during the EdTech Monday segment on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Kuewor noted, as an example that, his NGO raised over $1 million for 3,000 refugees in Ghana, Kenya and India.
“A lot of that money went to their education directly, like their school fees or paying for things like bicycles, so they can reach their schools more easily.”
“The right partnerships will garner that kind of funding and that kind of support,” he added.
With this strategy, he advised that organisations target companies with a track record that aligns with their goals.
“The approach should be which companies have a history or an association of refugees, migrants and other persons of concern and how do we garner those partnerships so that they are beneficial.”
EdTech Mondays is an initiative of the Mastercard Foundation’s Regional Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT and part of the Foundation’s strategy to find solutions to Africa’s youth employment by closing the gap in access to quality education, and advancing the integration of technology in education policies and practices across Africa.
To realize this vision in Ghana, the Mastercard Foundation has partnered with MEST Africa, a pan-African technology institution to bring EdTech Monday, on the last Monday of every month.
About MEST
MEST offers Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training, internal seed funding, and a network of hubs providing incubation for technology startups in Africa.
Founded in Ghana in 2008, MEST provides critical skills training, funding, and support in software development, business, and communications to Africa’s tech entrepreneurs. Hubs are located in Accra, Ghana; Lagos, Nigeria; Cape Town, South Africa; and Nairobi, Kenya.
To date, MEST has trained over 500 entrepreneurs from across the continent and invested in over 80 startups across industries from SaaS and consumer internet, to eCommerce, Digital Media, Agritech, Fintech and Healthcare IT.
MEST is primarily funded by the Meltwater Foundation, the non-profit arm of Meltwater, a global leader in media intelligence and Outside Insight.