Imagine Worldwide

What Imagine Worldwide does

Imagine Worldwide is a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Mill Valley, California, that delivers tablet-based literacy and numeracy programs to children in Sub-Saharan Africa. The organization partners with government ministries of education and humanitarian implementing organizations to deploy programs at national scale, currently reaching 708,590 students across 1,420 schools with solar-powered tablet infrastructure in three scale countries (Malawi, Sierra Leone, Tanzania) and five additional pilot markets (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Rwanda).

The core technology stack combines onebillion's onecourse instructional software, which has been validated by at least nine randomized controlled trials, with Imagine Worldwide's proprietary assessment tools delivered through the Tangerine platform. Country-branded programs—BEFIT in Malawi, Pikin Tab in Sierra Leone, and MsingiTek in Tanzania—deliver structured lessons localized in English, Chichewa, and Kiswahili. The proprietary SA-EGRMA assessment methodology has been shown to produce comparable validity to traditional paper-based EGRA/EGMA at roughly one-quarter the cost. Beyond primary literacy and numeracy, Imagine Worldwide operates a refugee education program (notably at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi in partnership with the IRC) and is developing an Executive Function Assessment Battery.

Revenue is generated entirely through charitable contributions and institutional grants from foundations including The Audacious Project, Jacobs Foundation, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, and the Global Partnership for Education; there is no commercial sales model. Co-CEOs Rapelang Rabana and Joe Wolf lead a global team of more than 80 employees across 11 countries and 13 nationalities, with major operational hubs in Lilongwe (Malawi), Freetown (Sierra Leone), and Johannesburg (South Africa). The organization has been recognized with the 2025 Global EdTech Prize, the 2025 Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education, the 2023 HundrED 100 designation, and selection into The Audacious Project 2025 cohort.

Name

Imagine Worldwide

Legal name

Imagine Worldwide

Website

https://imagineworldwide.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Technology Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Learning Device Ecosystems & 1:1 Program Solutions (Devices, MDM, Charging) (EDAJAMAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Core Digital Curriculum & Courseware (Full Programs & Units) (EDAFACAA), Subject-Specific Courseware (Math, Science, ELA, Social Studies, etc.) (EDAFACAB), K–12 Digital Curriculum & Interactive Lessons (EDAGAEAA), Literacy Foundations (Phonics, Reading Fluency, Comprehension) Platforms (EDAFAOAD), AT for Reading, Writing & Learning (Literacy/Executive Function) Tools & Training (EDAKAIAC), Education Tablets (HDACAMAC)

Keywords

• Tablet-based learning
• Literacy programs
• Edtech nonprofit
• Learning assessment
• Child-directed learning

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Imagine Worldwide is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Revenue is generated through donations from individuals, foundations, and institutional donors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Imagine Worldwide delivers tablet-based foundational literacy and numeracy programs to children in Sub-Saharan Africa, primarily through partnerships with national ministries of education. Its core product is the deployment of onebillion's onecourse instructional software on solar-powered tablets, combined with its proprietary SA-EGRMA assessment tools, enabling child-directed learning and large-scale measurement of learning gains at low cost.

Product overview

Imagine Worldwide is a nonprofit organization that provides tablet-based educational technology solutions focused on improving literacy and numeracy for children in Sub-Saharan Africa. The organization operates a multi-product portfolio centered on its core technology platform: child-directed, tablet-based learning software (primarily onebillion's onecourse) delivered through solar-powered tablet programs. The product suite includes BEFIT (Malawi's national program), Pikin Tab (Sierra Leone), and MsingiTek (Tanzania), alongside proprietary assessment tools including the SA-EGRMA for measuring learning outcomes and an Executive Function Assessment Battery for researching learning barriers. Programs target both in-school and out-of-school children, including refugee populations, with localized content in multiple African languages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BEFIT (Building Education Foundations Through Innovation & Technology)

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• World BankcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026World Bank is conducting a matched-comparison quasi-experimental study of the BEFIT program in Malawi using the Chichewa SA-EGRMA to measure learning impacts.
• RTI InternationalcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2021Partnership to develop the tablet-based Self-Administered EGRA/EGMA (SA-EGRMA) to monitor learning gains. SA-EGRMA is administered through the secure Tangerine platform.
• International Rescue CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 November 2019Groundbreaking partnership announced in 2019 for expanding tablet-based learning programs, particularly for refugee children. The IRC's Pop-Up Learning program in Cox's Bazar uses Imagine's methodology.
• onebillioncoreTechnology or IntegrationSoftware partner providing onecourse tablet-based instructional software. At least nine RCTs have demonstrated consistent positive learning gains from onebillion's software across multiple countries and settings.
• Global Education Coalition / UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImagine Worldwide is a member of the Digital Transformation Collaborative (DTC), a sub-group of the Global Education Coalition launched by UNESCO. Contributed to the framework for digital transformation in education.
• EducAidcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementing partner for the Digital Foundational Learning Program (now named Pikin Tab) in Sierra Leone, delivering foundational literacy and numeracy instruction.
• Rising Academy NetworkcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner for the Digital Foundational Learning Program in Sierra Leone, delivering foundational literacy and numeracy instruction through onecourse software.
• University of MalawiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with University of Malawi colleagues for BEFIT research, including Dr. Symon Winiko, and RBC Consult for research activities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Curious Learning: Nonprofit deploying tablet-based literacy apps for children in low-resource and refugee settings, including programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Shares Imagine's tablet-first, child-directed model for foundational reading.
• Worldreader: Nonprofit that distributes digital reading content via e-readers and tablets across Sub-Saharan Africa and other low-income regions. Closely comparable to Imagine in targeting child literacy in low-connectivity African contexts through device-based delivery.
• Eneza Education: Africa-focused EdTech nonprofit delivering mobile and tablet-based learning content (including SMS, USSD, and app formats) to millions of students across Kenya, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and elsewhere. Comparable foundational-learning focus on African schoolchildren via lightweight tech.
• Library For All: Nonprofit building low-cost digital libraries and reading apps for children in LMICs, including Rwanda and Liberia. Comparable mission of using technology to expand literacy access for children in low-resource contexts.
• onebillion: UK-based nonprofit that develops the onecourse tablet-based literacy and numeracy software which Imagine Worldwide deploys at scale. Direct functional overlap in tablet-based foundational learning software for out-of-school and in-school children in low-resource settings.

Broad incumbents

• Pratham: One of the largest literacy-focused NGOs globally, best known for foundational reading and numeracy programs across India. A broader incumbent that shares Imagine's foundational-literacy mission but operates at much greater scale with a primarily non-tech model.
• UNICEF Education: UN agency funding and operating large-scale education programs, including digital and foundational learning initiatives, across the same African geographies Imagine serves. Functions as a funder, convener, and operator in overlapping areas.

Emerging players

• Rumie: Nonprofit that distributes low-cost Android tablets preloaded with curated educational content to learners in underserved communities, including refugee and LMIC contexts. Smaller and earlier stage than Imagine but shares the device-plus-content deployment model.

Regional players

• eKitabu: East Africa-based social enterprise focused on accessible digital textbooks and learning content, including in refugee settings. Geographically overlapping with Imagine's Malawi and Tanzania footprint and serving similar child-literacy needs via digital delivery.
• Bridge International Academies: Africa-focused low-cost private school network that has historically used tablet-based lesson delivery in its schools. Operates in overlapping African countries but uses a school-operator model rather than government MoE partnerships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Literacy_Now1
• Facebookfacebook.com/Imagine-Worldwide-112880886077215
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imagineworldwide/about
• Instagraminstagram.com/imagineworldwideliteracy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Imagine Worldwide