Bridgette Biira

Ugandan tech entrepreneur who revolutionized education access through mobile technology

Bridgette Biira is a Ugandan-American entrepreneur and founder of Peer Africa, a social enterprise that uses mobile technology to provide educational resources to underserved youth in Africa. Born in Uganda during the civil war of the 1980s, Biira's early life was marked by displacement and limited access to education. She moved to the US at age 12 and later earned degrees from UC Berkeley and Stanford University.

In 2014, Biira returned to Uganda with a vision to bridge the education gap using mobile platforms accessible even in remote areas. Peer Africa's flagship product, the 'Digital Library,' delivers curriculum-aligned content via SMS and basic mobile phones - devices owned by over 80% of Ugandans. This innovation has impacted over 500,000 students across 3 countries by 2019, with measurable improvements in exam scores and school retention rates.

Biira's work was recognized by Forbes as one of Africa's Top 30 Under 30 in 2017. She pioneered the 'edu-tech for all' model, demonstrating that affordable technology solutions can effectively address systemic educational inequities. Her approach emphasizes community partnerships, training local educators to sustain the program's impact. In 2018, she launched the first rural STEM academy in western Uganda, combining digital tools with hands-on learning to prepare students for tech careers.

Key to her success is the Mobile Active Alliance partnership, which connects developers with education stakeholders across 14 African nations. Biira's TED Talk 'How I'm using mobile tech to transform African education' has over 1.2 million views, spreading awareness about scalable educational solutions in low-resource settings.