Sofía Ribeiro

Argentinian education pioneer building digital learning networks for marginalized youth

Sofía Ribeiro is an Argentine social entrepreneur whose Aprende.org platform has transformed education access for over 500,000 Latin American students since 2010. Born in Córdoba in 1988, she observed educational inequities growing up in a favela community. After studying computer engineering at the University of Buenos Aires, she co-founded Aprende.org to provide free online courses in partnership with MIT and Harvard.

Ribeiro's breakthrough came with the 2014 launch of the Móvil Educativo initiative, offering offline course materials via USB drives to rural schools without internet. This model was replicated in 12 countries through UNESCO partnerships. Her platform now includes vocational training in renewable energy and digital marketing, with 75% of graduates securing employment within six months.

Recognized as a MacArthur Fellow in 2018, Ribeiro developed AI-driven learning algorithms customized for Spanish speakers. Her Oxfam-supported project provides cybersecurity training to 20,000+ women annually. In 2021, she introduced the 'Digital Nomad Scholarships' program, enabling 500 students to study abroad through virtual internships.

Her TEDx talk 'Reimagining Education Equity' has been translated into 15 languages. Ribeiro advises the Inter-American Development Bank on EdTech policy and recently collaborated with Google to create an open-source platform for indigenous language education. Her work was featured in Time Magazine's 2020 list of most influential education innovators.