Tawanda Kanhema

A Zimbabwean tech entrepreneur and advocate for education equity, revolutionizing access to quality education across Africa through digital innovation.

Tawanda Kanhema is a visionary Zimbabwean entrepreneur and founder of eLearning Africa, a platform that has transformed educational access across the African continent. Born in 1980, she grew up witnessing the challenges of limited educational resources in rural areas. Her pioneering work since 2003 has focused on leveraging technology to bridge the digital divide. By 2020, eLearning Africa had connected over 50,000 educators and policymakers across 45 African countries through annual conferences and digital toolkits.

In 2022, she launched Scholarship Portal Africa, a free online platform matching students with global funding opportunities. This initiative has enabled 15,000+ African students to pursue higher education since its inception. Kanhema's UNDP partnership in 2021 expanded digital literacy programs to 100,000+ rural youth. Her TED Talk 'Reimagining Education in Africa' (2023) has garnered 2.3 million views globally.

She was recognized as a Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 laureate in 2020 and received the UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education in 2023. Kanhema's work emphasizes inclusive tech solutions like offline-compatible e-learning modules and solar-powered digital labs for schools without reliable electricity.