Imagine Worldwide empowers children around the world to build the necessary literacy and
numeracy skills to achieve their full potential.
What it is
Imagine Worldwide empowers the world’s most marginalized children by providing them with high-quality, digital learning tools to build basic literacy and numeracy skills. The organization currently serves elementary-aged children in seven countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Tanzania.
Imagine offers a research-based curriculum and pedagogy that is accessible, effective, and affordable. Children drive their own learning using adaptive software on solar-powered tablets that can be use used in any setting (school, home, or community) and that do not require internet connectivity. Adults, who are trained by local partners, offer support and suggestions when needed.
children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age can’t read or write
35%
of the primary school teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa lack the minimum required qualifications
89%
of children in Sub-Saharan Africa are unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10
Why we believe in it
Imagine’s evidence base demonstrates impressive improvements in literacy and numeracy for children in multiple different countries, and these gains are sustained over time.
Most notably, a randomized control trial of 578 children in Malawi showed that children using the tablet-based program for 13 months gained 4.2 months of overall literacy versus the control group of similar students receiving standard instruction at the same schools, with a 0.37 effect size. 29% of the treatment group attained emergent or fluent reader status.
The same children gained 3.6 months in early math skills versus the control group, with a 0.77 effect size. 72% of the treatment group attained emergent or fluent math achievement levels.
Imagine has also designed its work to be highly scalable. The annual per child cost is less than $8 and declining (including hardware, software, accessories, power, shipping, and implementation), and the solutions can work offline, are self-paced, do not require adult instruction, and are available in multiple languages, including English, French, Chichewa, and Swahili.
Progress to date
Imagine started in 2017 and served more than 1,600 children in 2019. In 2022, the organization reached more than 12,200 children through its programs in seven Sub-Saharan African countries. Given already secured contracts, Imagine estimates reaching more than 900,000 children by 2024, a 251% compound annual growth rate since 2019.
The organization’s reach is growing meaningfully due to the increasing demand for effective and scalable learning tools for children across the region. Most notably, in July 2022, the government of Malawi formally committed to expanding the Imagine program to every primary school in the country. The countrywide implementation is expected to serve nearly 3.5M children annually at full scale by 2028. In Sierra Leone, the organization is working with the Ministry of Education to serve an initial 125,000 students.
Imagine’s work has the potential to reach millions of marginalized children over the next several years and create a roadmap for other countries to follow.
