Maimouna Keita

A pioneering female entrepreneur in Mali who revolutionized access to education through technology

Maimouna Keita (born 1972) is a Malian entrepreneur and innovator who made a significant difference in West Africa's educational landscape. In 2001, she founded EducateAfrica, a nonprofit tech company that develops affordable digital learning platforms tailored for rural communities. Her initiative addressed the lack of access to quality education in regions with limited infrastructure, reaching over 500,000 students across 12 countries by 2015.

Before her entrepreneurial journey, Keita worked as a software engineer at Mali's National Institute of Telecommunications, where she realized the potential of technology to bridge educational gaps. Her breakthrough came with the ‘Digital Classroom in a Box’ project, a solar-powered kit containing preloaded educational content that could operate offline. This innovation proved critical in areas with unreliable internet.

Keita’s work has been recognized globally. In 2008, she was featured in Forbes Africa as one of the continent’s top 100 innovators and received the UNESCO ICT in Education Award. Her advocacy for girls' education led to partnerships with organizations like Women in AI, amplifying her impact. Despite challenges like funding shortages and cultural resistance, Keita’s persistence has inspired a generation of African tech entrepreneurs focused on social impact.