Nigerian startup takes top prize at UNDP’s pan-African edtech accelerator

Data Entry Academy, a Lagos-based edtech platform, has won first place in the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Get Ready 4 timbuktoo EdTech accelerator, taking home a $10,000 prize after topping a field of 1,429 applicants from across Africa.

The startup, founded by Chioma Ifeanyi-Eze, beat finalists from Egypt and Senegal during a July 1 pitch event in Dakar, Senegal. Another Nigerian startup, Varsity Scape, placed sixth among the top 10 winners.

The award underscores the growing prominence of Nigeria’s edtech ecosystem, particularly startups building digital skills and workforce development solutions, at a time when development finance institutions and ecosystem builders are expanding support for education technology across Africa. 

As venture funding becomes more selective, accelerator programmes such as timbuktoo and the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship are increasingly helping startups refine their products, access mentorship, and build investor readiness.

 According to UNDP, the 2026 Get Ready 4 timbuktoo EdTech accelerator attracted 1,429 applications from across Africa, with 1,099 startups meeting the eligibility criteria. Fifty startups were selected for the 12-week programme after nearly 2,850 blind evaluations by 19 independent experts.

Twenty startups advanced to the final pitch, where 10 emerged as winners. Data Entry Academy took the top prize, followed by startups from Egypt and Senegal in second and third place, respectively.

Founded in 2020, Data Entry Academy operates a 30-day online training programme that teaches workplace software skills, including spreadsheets, cloud accounting, invoicing, inventory management and payroll tools. The startup says it has trained more than 17,000 learners across Africa through courses delivered on Telegram and Teachable. Participants require only basic computer literacy to enrol, with learners ranging from job seekers and entrepreneurs to employees being upskilled by their organisations.

Data Entry Academy and Varsity Scape previously participated in the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, which provides selected startups with $100,000 in equity-free funding and advisory support. Data Entry Academy joined the programme’s second cohort in 2024, while Varsity Scape participated in the third cohort.

The award caps a 12-week accelerator in which startups received support to strengthen their business models, improve their products, develop market traction, and prepare for investment through the broader timbuktoo pipeline.

The accelerator is part of UNDP’s broader timbuktoo initiative, launched at the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos with a goal of mobilising $1 billion over 10 years to support 10,000 startups and generate $10 billion in economic value across Africa.

The initiative describes itself as a platform that brings together governments, investors, universities, and private sector organisations. It currently runs six pan-African thematic hubs, has trained 3,480 innovators, and operates 16 University Innovation Pods across the continent, with another 12 in the pipeline.

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