Edtech Insights: Kwame Nyatuame on Public-Private Partnerships for Growth

The Power of Public-Private Partnerships in Ghana’s Edtech Journey

One afternoon last year, I found myself in a small computer lab at a public senior high school. The room had a distinct smell of varnish and hope. Students were working on coding projects using donated laptops, while their teacher alternated between a printed lesson plan and a WhatsApp chat with a tech company that provided the software. “We wouldn’t have this without the company,” she said quietly. “But we also wouldn’t have it without the ministry helping us set this up.” That brief exchange encapsulates a broader truth: Edtech in Ghana thrives when public will and private innovation work together. Alone, each can achieve good results. But together, they have the potential to transform an entire education system.

Why PPPs Matter for Ghana’s Edtech Ambitions

Ghana has ambitious goals for digital education. The Smart Schools Project aims to equip about 1.3 million senior high school students with tablets and digital content, signaling a government commitment to scale digital learning. However, achieving such large-scale implementation is expensive, complex, and fragile without partners who bring money, technical expertise, distribution channels, and maintenance capacity. This is where public-private partnerships (PPPs) come into play—they combine the public sector’s reach and mandate with the private sector’s agility and capital.

Across Africa, investors and foundations are already making significant bets on Edtech. In 2024, the continent’s tech ecosystem raised $3.2 billion, showing the potential for mobilizing capital for education innovations. Locally, Ghana’s investment ecosystem is maturing as well. Venture capital and private equity activity is growing, with recent reports indicating the emergence of a multi-billion-dollar asset class within the country. This suggests that private capital can serve as a long-term partner for social sectors, including education.

Real PPP Wins: Lessons from Practical Partnerships

Some of the most valuable lessons come from successful partnerships:

• Global funds + local hubs: Initiatives like the Mastercard Foundation’s EdTech Fellowship in Ghana, run in collaboration with MEST Africa, provide funding, mentorship, and learning-science expertise to early-stage Edtech firms. These fellows go on to partner with schools and government pilots.

• Telco + Edtech models (regional inspiration): In Kenya, Safaricom’s partnerships with platforms like Eneza Education opened low-cost, mobile-first access to millions of students. This shows how telcos can expand reach by waiving data costs or investing in startups. Ghana has similar corporate players—telcos, banks, and foundations—who can replicate these models at scale.

• Government + community infrastructure: GIFEC’s Community ICT Centres (CICs) are a public investment in local digital access. With private partners, these centers can host Edtech pilots, teacher training, and community learning hubs that extend classroom reach into neighborhoods. Ghana’s CIC network is growing every year and serves as a natural platform for PPPs.

These examples highlight a pattern: governments provide mandate and scale, while private actors bring products, distribution, and operations. When both play defined roles, schools and students benefit significantly.

What PPPs Must Deliver (Not Just Promises)

To be more than PR or pilot projects, PPPs must be designed to deliver real, measurable education outcomes. This includes:

• Sustainable financing models that go beyond one-off donations. Contracts should include maintenance budgets, device replacement cycles, and funding for teacher support.

• Local content and curriculum alignment, ensuring that digital tools align with GES curricula and local languages to improve classroom learning.

• Teacher training and change management—technology without pedagogy fails. PPPs must fund in-service training and coaching, not just hardware.

• Data and evaluation—partners should agree on metrics like attendance, learning gains, and retention, and share evidence transparently.

• Equity first—PPPs must prioritize underserved regions to avoid widening the urban-rural digital divide.

Who Should Invest, and How?

The good news is that the money exists on the continent and increasingly in Ghana. International funds, regional venture capital, and corporate CSR/CSV budgets, as well as local institutional investors, can all be mobilized if the project is structured for impact and scale.

Practical options include:

• Blended finance: Government seed money combined with impact investors to de-risk early pilots.

• Procurement partnerships: Governments purchasing services from vetted Edtech firms (software-as-a-service), creating predictable revenue for startups.

• Telco education bundles: Negotiated zero-rated or highly subsidized data bundles for approved educational content, similar to how Safaricom scaled content access in other markets.

A Warning and an Imperative

We must avoid two major pitfalls. First, donor-driven projects that bypass local ownership often fail when funds run out. Second, tech-first pilots that ignore teachers and curricula end up unused on shelves. Education is more than tools and KPIs—it is the catalyst that shapes the kind of society we want: capable, competent, audacious, empathetic, and patriotic citizens who build a better Ghana. Any PPP must be judged by this standard—not just by deployment numbers.

A Simple Action Plan for Ghana’s Leaders

To move forward, leaders should consider:

• Create an Edtech PPP Unit inside the Ministry of Education to vet partners, manage contracts, and oversee scale-ups.

• Publish an Edtech procurement playbook with standards for content alignment, device specs, teacher training minimums, and data protection rules.

• Launch regional PPP pilots that pair GIFEC CICs with private content providers and telcos, using these hubs to train teachers and demonstrate impact.

• Incentivize local investment through tax credits or matching funds for Ghanaian investors backing Edtech startups committed to national rollout and evidence-based results.

• Measure what matters—focus on learning outcomes, inclusion metrics (rural reach, girls’ participation), and teacher adoption rates.

Final Thought: Fuel for the Future

PPPs are not a silver bullet, but they are the fuel Ghana’s Edtech ambitions need. When public reach and private capability partner with clarity, rigour, and a shared moral purpose, we can move beyond pilots and make digital learning a normal, everyday reality for Ghanaian learners. Let’s build partnerships that not only distribute tablets, servers, or apps but also nurture the minds and values of a generation. That is how we turn technology into nation-making.