Navigating Complexity: How EdTech Can Turn Learning Loss into Leapfrogging

Imagine a Different South Africa

Imagine a South Africa where 81% of Grade 4 children read for meaning, where twice as many can read at all, where our schools rank among the most equal in the world, where only 37% of children who start Grade 1 fail to complete matric, and just 4% never earn a degree.

These numbers are fiction, the inverse of our reality. But that is precisely what makes them useful. They challenge the boundaries of what we believe is possible.

We live in a polycrisis world: pandemics, inequality, climate shocks and economic fragility collide to expose the brittleness of our systems. Education is no exception and its cracks are among the most dangerous. South Africa’s schools are marked by complexity: overcrowded classrooms, persistent learning losses, and linguistic divides that leave millions behind. Linear fixes alone will not resolve these layered challenges. But technology, when used thoughtfully, offers tools that can adapt, scale, and connect, creating opportunities for transformation across the system.

This article explores how technology is already contributing to education transformation, what opportunities lie ahead, and how funders and practitioners can embrace complexity rather than resist it.

Technology as a Catalyst for Education Transformation

Technology is not a silver bullet, but it is one of the few tools designed for volatility and scale. It enables education systems to adapt quickly, to personalise learning, and to generate evidence of what works.

Too often, though, “EdTech” is narrowly imagined as screens in classrooms or e-learning platforms. In reality, it spans the entire ecosystem: tools that adapt instruction for learners, digital assistants that help teachers plan and assess, mobile nudges that keep parents engaged, school management systems that streamline operations, and data platforms that inform policy. In short, EdTech is not just about what happens in the classroom; it is about rewiring the way the whole system functions.

During COVID-19, for example, EdTech showed just how quickly it could respond when disruption hit. It was a seismic moment revealing qualities that remain central to EdTech’s transformative potential:

• Adaptability and reach: EdTech can pivot rapidly, introducing new content, new channels, and new timetables, extending learning into homes, onto mobile devices, and even into offline spaces.
• Personalisation at scale: By adapting to the pace and level of each learner, technology ensures no one is left behind,, even in overcrowded classrooms.
• Continuous feedback: Digital tools generate real-time insights into what is working, for whom, and in which contexts, creating feedback loops that allow education systems to adjust in ways analogue models cannot.

These are not abstract capabilities, they are already being put into practice by innovators across South Africa.

Proof of Possibility: South African Innovations

From AI-driven translation tools to mobile-first platforms, South African EdTech ventures are showing what transformation looks like. Several examples from Injini’s portfolio, alongside the work of other innovators in the ecosystem, illustrate what is possible when technology is designed for South Africa’s realities:

• Vambo AI is building artificial intelligence tools that translate content into home languages like isiZulu and isiXhosa, addressing one of the deepest inequities in African education: learning in a language you don’t speak at home.
• Edutech Institute uses AI-powered personalisation to identify learner gaps and tailor content at scale, helping children progress at their own pace and narrowing inequities.
• Digify Africa pioneers mobile-first learning via WhatsApp, delivering low-data, micro-lessons that learners can access anytime and anywhere;  a model built for South Africa’s realities, not borrowed from abroad.
• OURS designs offline-first devices so that digital learning is not confined to well-connected schools.
• Ecolabs Africa repurposes obsolete computers to build affordable digital labs in township and rural schools, pairing infrastructure with practical learning.

At Injini, we’ve seen firsthand that bold innovation in education is not just theoretical; it is already happening. In South Africa alone, we have worked with 35 EdTech ventures, some of which are mentioned above and reached more than 2.5 million children. Across the continent, our portfolio extends to 60 ventures, demonstrating the breadth of innovation emerging from diverse African contexts.

Many of these ventures have also attracted support from IPASA members such as Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies and Investec, underscoring how philanthropy and ecosystem enablers can align to back solutions that matter.

Where Technology Hits a Wall

Yet, despite its promise, EdTech often stalls at the point of integration. Strong pilots thrive in classrooms or districts, but rarely cross into public systems with their tight budgets, complex procurement rules, and heavy teacher training requirements. This is precisely where philanthropy has a catalytic role: not in funding isolated experiments, but in strengthening the ecosystem so innovations can scale.

That means funding coalitions, not islands: ventures that share data models, align roadmaps, and bundle offerings so that schools and provinces face fewer fragmented choices. It also means reshaping risk and results: using catalytic tools such as recoverable grants or first-loss guarantees tied to milestones like teacher onboarding or platform interoperability, instead of waiting to measure only end-state KPIs.

Equity must be the design principle. In South Africa, that means building mobile-first, low-data solutions that work on entry-level phones and under intermittent connectivity; if a tool doesn’t work there, it doesn’t scale. And to sustain this progress, philanthropy should also invest in the EdTech value chain itself, intermediaries, research labs, shared services, and standards that allow each new innovation to run on faster, safer rails.

In short, philanthropy can move EdTech from scattered excellence to systemic transformation.

Opportunities Ahead: Emerging EdTech Trends

So how can technology contribute not only to education reform, but to leapfrogging transformation? Several trends stand out in South Africa and globally:

• AI for Language and Accessibility: Advances in natural language processing mean we can build AI tutors that teach in isiZulu, Sesotho, or Afrikaans, bridging the gap between home language and classroom language. This aligns with DBE’s Mother Tongue-based Basic Education initiative and could make learning equitable across all 11 official languages.
• Mobile-First Microlearning: With 90%+ of young South Africans accessing the internet via mobile, WhatsApp and SMS-based learning platforms are shifting how content is delivered. Micro-lessons designed for low-data environments make learning constant, accessible, and affordable.
• Offline-First and Hybrid Models: Tools that work without stable connectivity (e.g., preloaded devices, local servers in schools) are becoming essential in rural and township contexts. This trend ensures that digital learning is not limited to urban, connected schools.
• Adaptive and Data-Driven Platforms: Adaptive learning software personalises lessons in real time, while dashboards provide teachers and policymakers with immediate insights into learner progress. This trend allows for more responsive teaching and targeted interventions.
• AI-Powered Teacher Assistants: Teachers can use AI to lighten administrative loads from lesson planning to grading, freeing up more time for classroom engagement. In systems where teachers are overstretched, this is transformative.
• Skills-to-Employment Pathways: EdTech is blurring the line between schooling and work readiness. Platforms offering coding, digital literacy, and vocational training are growing, helping learners acquire market-relevant skills and transition into jobs faster.

These trends are not abstract. They are visible in the work of South African innovators today, from WhatsApp-based literacy micro-lessons to AI-driven language tools, and from offline-first learning devices to vocational training platforms. The opportunity for funders is to ensure these tools move beyond pilots and become embedded in classrooms and policies. 

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