Sunita Mohanty

An Indian edtech innovator bridging education gaps through affordable online platforms

Sunita Mohanty: Building Digital Classrooms for India’s Marginalized

Sunita Mohanty, born in Bhubaneswar, India in 1979, is a social entrepreneur whose SimpliLearn-inspired platform EduBridge has transformed education access for India’s rural poor. Launching in 2003, EduBridge offered free SMS-based learning modules in Hindi and regional languages, reaching 1.2 million students by 2010. Her team’s "Mobile Classroom" initiative distributed low-cost tablets preloaded with curriculum-aligned content, targeting girls in villages where only 35% of females completed secondary school.

Mohanty’s breakthrough came in 2015 with the "Digital Tutor" app, which used AI to personalize learning paths for students in underserved areas. By 2020, the app had 10 million users, with 80% of users in rural zones. A 2021 study by UNICEF found that students using EduBridge scored 25% higher on national exams than peers without access. Her partnerships with Google.org expanded internet access via solar-powered Wi-Fi hubs in 500 villages.

Mohanty’s advocacy led to India’s 2018 National EdTech Policy, which mandates 30% of school budgets be allocated to digital infrastructure. She co-founded the Girls in Tech India initiative, training 10,000 rural girls in coding since 2016. Her 2020 book "Code for Change: How Technology Can Redesign Education" (published by Penguin Random House) outlines strategies for inclusive edtech scaling.

Her most ambitious project, the "Solar School Buses" (launched 2022), combines mobile classrooms with solar energy systems. These buses travel to remote areas, offering STEM workshops and charging stations for community devices. The initiative has already impacted 500,000 students in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, earning Mohanty the 2023 UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy.

Despite her success, Mohanty remains critical of India’s digital divide. In a 2022 interview with Times of India, she stated, "Edtech isn’t about replacing teachers—it’s about giving every child a fighting chance." Her work continues to inspire global efforts, with UNICEF adopting her SMS-based learning model in Kenya and Pakistan.