A new digital platform for education called RESPECT has been launched to support AUDA-NEPAD’s Africa EdTech 2030 Vision. The plan aims to ensure every African student has access to quality interactive courseware, built in Africa for African learners, by 2030. RESPECT is designed to help governments, developers, and educators align around this goal, with tools that scale beyond short-term pilots.
RESPECT was developed by the Spix Foundation and announced at the STEMtastic Adventures! Africa symposium in Nairobi. It comes amid growing urgency: AUDA-NEPAD estimates that 30 million children in Africa are out of school, only 40% of primary schools have internet, and the continent needs 17 million more teachers by 2030. Billions have been spent on education technology, but the results remain fragmented and unsustainable.
RESPECT tackles this with a standards-based approach. It allows courseware apps to work online and offline, comply with data privacy laws, and integrate into national systems. It also introduces a pay-per-use model that rewards developers and localisers based on actual usage. All content is free to learners.
The platform addresses two key bottlenecks identified by AUDA-NEPAD: the lack of data on what works, and the difficulty of scaling good solutions. RESPECT apps share anonymised usage data with relevant authorities, enabling real-time feedback and research.
RESPECT is trying to end “pilot fatigue” and make education technology more accessible and scalable across African countries by supporting interoperability and lowering commercial and technical barriers.
