Imagine Worldwide
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
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.
Imagine Worldwide firmographics
Firmographics- 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
Imagine Worldwide industry classification
Industry- 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
Where Imagine Worldwide is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Imagine Worldwide business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- 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
Imagine Worldwide product offering
Product offeringCore 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)
Companies that use Imagine Worldwide
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Imagine Worldwide technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
Imagine Worldwide partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- World BankcoreWorld 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 InternationalcorePartnership 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 CommitteecoreGroundbreaking 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.
- onebillioncoreSoftware 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 / UNESCOcoreImagine 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.
- EducAidcoreImplementing partner for the Digital Foundational Learning Program (now named Pikin Tab) in Sierra Leone, delivering foundational literacy and numeracy instruction.
- Rising Academy NetworkcorePartner for the Digital Foundational Learning Program in Sierra Leone, delivering foundational literacy and numeracy instruction through onecourse software.
- University of MalawiminorCollaboration 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
Imagine Worldwide competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect 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
Imagine Worldwide social profiles
Digital presenceImagine Worldwide financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Imagine Worldwide leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Imagine Worldwide funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Imagine Worldwide M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Imagine Worldwide
What does Imagine Worldwide do?
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.
Is Imagine Worldwide a public or private company?
Imagine Worldwide is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Imagine Worldwide founded?
Imagine Worldwide was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Imagine Worldwide based?
Imagine Worldwide is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Imagine Worldwide make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Charitable Contributions.
Who are Imagine Worldwide's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Curious Learning, Worldreader, Eneza Education, Library For All and onebillion. Broad incumbents are Pratham and UNICEF Education. Rumie is listed as an emerging player. Regional players are eKitabu and Bridge International Academies.
Does Imagine Worldwide have an API?
No public API is recorded for Imagine Worldwide.
What industry is Imagine Worldwide in?
Imagine Worldwide's product category is Educational Technology Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAMAL, Learning Device Ecosystems & 1:1 Program Solutions (Devices, MDM, Charging), with a secondary code of EDAFACAA, Core Digital Curriculum & Courseware (Full Programs & Units). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.