Noha Ashraf

Egyptian tech entrepreneur bridging digital divide through solar-powered schools

Noha Ashraf (born 1985) is the visionary behind SolarLearn, an initiative providing solar-powered education centers to Egyptian villages without electricity. Her work has connected over 50,000 rural students to digital learning since 2016.

A mechanical engineer by training, Ashraf recognized the educational gap during her 2011 Fulbright Scholarship at MIT. Witnessing Cairo's tech boom contrasted with her hometown's lack of basic infrastructure, she developed a portable solar kit that powers tablets and projectors. The first SolarLearn center opened in Upper Egypt's Sohag governorate in 2017.

Ashraf's model combines renewable energy with curriculum design tailored to local needs. Courses include coding, agriculture tech, and healthcare basics taught through interactive apps. Her team's 2021 study showed SolarLearn students scoring 30% higher in national exams than peers without access. The project has expanded to Sudan and Niger, supported by UNICEF and Google.org grants.

In 2020, Ashraf launched the Girls Tech Future program, addressing Egypt's 23% female STEM participation rate. Her TED Talk How solar-powered schools are lighting up Egypt (2022) has over 2 million views. The documentary Solar Edu (2023) chronicles her work.

Ashraf's innovations received the African Union's Innovation Prize (2021) and inspired similar projects like Kenya's Solar Classrooms. Her book Powering Education details strategies for sustainable tech implementation in developing regions. Ashraf currently advises the Egyptian government's Digital Egypt 2030 initiative, aiming to connect all villages by 2025.