SabiScholar

SabiScholar empowers universities in Africa to launch accredited online degree programs without needing to build or manage their own content or digital infrastructure.

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Inspiration

Across Africa, millions of students are locked out of higher education—not due to lack of ambition, but due to poor infrastructure, underfunded institutions, and a lack of digital tools. Our team was inspired by this crisis. We envisioned a way to help African universities scale access to learning without having to invest heavily in content or technology. That’s how SabiScholar was born.

What it does

We offer:

  • A plug-and-play Learning Management System (LMS) optimized for low bandwidth and mobile access
  • Ready-to-deploy, university-aligned courses across key disciplines
  • AI-powered tools like Chat-based tutoring, Career path recommendation, Personalized study planning and others
  • Offline access and adaptive video streaming for students in low-connectivity areas
  • Seamless integration into university systems via open APIs and LTI support

How we built it

We began by mapping Nigeria’s university curriculum and developing over 20 complete course modules. We then designed and developed:

  • A custom LMS with support for offline usage and adaptive streaming
  • API integrations and LTI support for schools’ systems
  • AI features trained on educational datasets

The platform is cloud-hosted (AWS), built using React, Python (Django), PostgreSQL, and scalable AWS services.

Challenges we ran into

  • Convincing traditional institutions to adopt third-party platforms
  • Navigating complex university procurement cycles
  • Building an interface that’s usable on low-end devices and 2G networks
  • Ensuring regulatory alignment across Nigeria

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Over 825 active learners are already onboarded
  • Built and deployed 20+ O-level ready courses
  • Recognized by key education bodies like JUPEB

What we learned

  • Institutions want to digitize, but on their terms
  • Simplicity and offline capability are essential in Africa
  • Trust, relationships, and local credibility are everything in education

What's next for SabiScholar

We’re scaling across West and East Africa. Next steps include:

  • Expanding course offerings to vocational and STEM programs
  • Building partnerships with ministries and regulators
  • Launching in Ghana and Kenya
  • Fundraising to support product development and university onboarding
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