Rwanda teaches in English, so teachers need to be strong in it. An AI-led programme is now helping tens of thousands of them get there.
Efekta Education says its AI-powered English training in Rwanda now reaches more than 90,000 participants. The programme began in July 2025 with 16,000 teachers. The goal is to reach as many as 150,000 educators. The company announced the update on 22 October 2026.
Efekta is an offshoot of Education First. It runs the two-year national programme with Rwanda’s Ministry of Education and the Rwanda Basic Education Board. The Mastercard Foundation and the World Bank pay for it through Rwanda’s Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development programme, known as QBE.
The aim is simple. English is Rwanda’s language of instruction, so a teacher’s English affects every lesson. Education Minister Joseph Nsengimana said, “English is not just a subject we teach; it’s our language of instruction.”
The training mixes four things: self-study, AI tutoring, live group lessons and in-person groups at schools called Communities of Practice. An AI teaching assistant gives feedback as teachers learn. It also offers support in more than one language. The platform tracks more than 40 measures of progress. Dashboards show results for each teacher, each school and the whole system.
Early results look strong, according to the company. Teachers in the first group started at level A2 on the CEFR scale, a common way to rate language skill. Most moved up to a solid B1, and many reached B2 or C1. B2 is the national goal for teachers.
Ivan Ntwali, the Mastercard Foundation’s country director, called the results a “scalable, cost-effective blueprint” that other African countries could copy. Efekta’s chief executive, Stephen Hodges, said the project aims to help Rwanda lead education reform in Africa.
These are the programme’s own early figures. They show how well teachers score in English. They do not yet show how pupils are doing. Reports on the programme also point to big hurdles across the region, such as patchy home internet, large classes and the need for ongoing support once training ends.
Why it matters: Africa needs far more teachers, and many must teach in a language they are still mastering. Rwanda is testing whether AI can lift teacher skills at national scale and at lower cost. If it works, other governments may follow. If pupils’ results improve too, the case will be much stronger.
What to watch next: whether Efekta reaches 150,000 teachers, how many hit the B2 goal, and whether classroom and pupil results improve in the years ahead.
Sources: Efekta Education press release on PR Newswire, 22 October 2026; The PIE News; report by Ralph Mwendwa, as published via Africa Business Communities.
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