With a wave of investment transforming Africa’s educational, economic, and physical infrastructure, a bright future lies ahead for the continent’s 1 billion people. But realizing this promise will require innovative solutions to some persistent challenges, including conflict, illiteracy, and health crises.

EDC is committed to improving the lives of people across Africa. Our programs build entrepreneurship and economic opportunity, support ambitious education reform efforts, and develop solutions to pervasive public health issues, including HIV/AIDS. Across all of our work, we consult regional partners to create meaningful, effective programs that are informed by local contexts and are designed to be sustainable long into the future.


Projects

Resources

Here are a few of our resources on Africa. To see more, visit our Resources section.
Reports

This final report for the Akazi Kanoze 2 (AK2) project in Rwanda summarizes the project's outcomes and outlines the priorities for sustainability.

Reports

This paper explores how the Government of Mali, with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development and Education Development Center, Inc., used innovative tools and methods (including georeferencing, mapping, and school/village surveys) to better understand the twin challenges posed by home-school distance and inefficient teacher distribution in rural communities and why Mali chose an old-school solution: one-room, multi-grade schools equipped with trained teachers and appropriate materials.

Fact sheets

The Package for Improving Education Quality (PIEQ) project aims to improve French and math learning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Through collaboration with DRC's National Ministry of Education (MNE), PIEQ builds the capacity of teachers, schools, and communities in three Congolese provinces to increase student learning by improving teaching and the school environment.

Reports

Inspiring Climate Action Now (ICAN) demonstrates the power of investment in science as a foundational skill set in low-resource contexts. In transforming primary science instruction, ICAN addresses gaps that limit later STEM opportunities for marginalized learners and motivates local action to respond to climate change. This report presents the results of the ICAN Year 1 evaluation.

Reports

This report calls for urgent global action to expand school feeding programs to address childhood hunger and poverty while improving education outcomes. It advocates for sustainable solutions, linking school meals to nutrition, education, and food justice, and is inspired by successful models, such as Brazil’s. A global partnership is essential to achieve these goals.

Reports

The findings from this research seek to identify opportunities and constraints for employment and self-employment for Liberian youth.

Toolkits

EDC developed the Educator Assessment of Learners’ Soft Skills Ability (EALSA), a formative soft skills assessment, for use with secondary and tertiary students in East and West Africa.

Reports

The Community School Alliances (CSA) Project was a successful, innovative effort to strengthen the role that communities play in primary school education in Ghana.

Reports

This report summarizes the results of a review, conducted by external experts, of the quality and content of the Out-of-School Literacy Assessment (OLA).

Reports

Rwanda has made commendable efforts to improve basic education, including literacy in the early grades.