Despite significant progress in recent decades, the Ghanaian educational system continues to face several challenges. There’s a shortage of well-trained teachers. Many children study in overcrowded classrooms and lack access to school materials, while over half a million children are not even enrolled in primary school. Children from rural communities, as well as girls and children with disabilities, are most vulnerable to these challenges.
Social entrepreneurs have been at the forefront of innovating solutions to address these issues, but scaling their impact is still quite a challenge for many of them. Common obstacles include limited access to funding, political barriers, difficulties in measuring and proving impact, and a need for stronger strategic leadership within their organizations.
To tackle these challenges, Reach for Change, with funding from the Jacobs Foundation, implemented the Scaling Readiness program. This two-year initiative aimed to support later-stage social entrepreneurs in the education sector, helping them lay the groundwork for scaling their impact. The program provided grants for organizational development and tailored individual coaching in two key areas: effective solutions and scaling practices. Additionally, the cohort received exposure through our "Edupreneur Talks" podcast on social media.
Achievements in 2023
Reach for Change supported 10 social entrepreneurs who collectively reached over 25,000 children and youth. These children benefited from a range of innovative educational solutions and materials, including:
- STEM education services
- Online and physical reading platforms
- School advisory platform
- Learning content creation platform
Impact and Progress
When evaluating their progress in 2023, the social entrepreneurs reported significant development:
- 100% believed they significantly developed towards an effective solution, with all attributing this progress to Reach for Change.
- 100% felt they significantly advanced their scaling strategy, with 89% acknowledging Reach for Change's significant contribution.
The entrepreneurs showed positive development across multiple areas. They increased their knowledge of Impact Measurement Management (IMM) best practices and improved their solutions through the development of scaling strategies and business models. Training in procurement, fundraising, and financial management further strengthened their governance structures and processes. By the end of the two-year program, these entrepreneurs had plans and resources in place to deliver their solutions at a significant scale.
I would have developed less without Reach for Change.
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Impact stories
The Scaling Readiness program has made a positive impact on the educational landscape in Ghana, empowering social entrepreneurs to scale their innovative solutions and reach more children and youth. Despite the ongoing challenges, the program's success stories demonstrate the potential for transformative change in the education sector.
Booksie Book Club is a pan-African organization that provides reading lessons and culturally relevant decodable books and leveled readers for Ghanaian and African children between 3-12 years. At the start of the Scaling Readiness program, Booksie faced challenges in several areas, including human resources, governance structure, sales, and marketing. Eighteen months later, they had successfully developed an HR policy, created a sales and marketing strategy, and built staff capacity in the area of finance. Prior to enrolling in the program they had supported 247 children to become proficient readers. Upon completion of the program, their reach had increased to over 1,100.
In January 2023, Booksie's Book Club welcomed 7-year-old Joachim, a bi-lingual Ghanaian-Congolese boy, into their reading community. Recognizing the challenges he faced in learning English and overcoming social anxiety, his mother enrolled him in the club, hoping for positive changes in his academic and social life.
In the beginning, he was extremely shy and reluctant to engage in club activities. His struggle with learning English, having initially learned to read and write in French, posed a significant obstacle. Furthermore, social anxiety limited his preferred interactions to within the comfort of his own home. Over the year, Joachim's transformation was nothing short of remarkable. The dedicated efforts of the club's tutors and the supportive environment they created fostered significant progress. By the end of November, Joachim displayed newfound confidence in reading, achieving proficiency at his age and grade level. His English grades moved from the bottom percentile to an impressive 70th percentile. He also made significant progress in other subjects. One of the most exciting developments was Joachim's blossoming social life. Initially hesitant to interact, he emerged from his shell, forming meaningful connections with fellow Book Club members. He not only made friends but also became an enthusiastic participant in discussions, reflecting his newfound comfort and
Speech Forces is a Ghanaian social enterprise that was founded to equip students with essential critical thinking skills required to become active and engaged citizens. The social enterprise’s most popular program DebateKids is targeted at children aged 5-12 years old and teaches basic research, persuasive writing, argumentative discourse, speaking and listening skills in a safe and structured environment. The program consistently engages over 500 participants.
Elorm is an 8-year-old child who struggled with self-esteem and was extremely withdrawn socially. Before joining DebateKids club, Elorm was very nervous of speaking in front of others and was unable to make friends at school. Her concerned parents decided to enroll her in DebateKids club in the hopes that it might help with her shattered confidence.
After just a few months with DebateKids, Elorm is already expressing herself more among her peers and she participates more in class activities.
“Elorm is more confident now and expresses her views frequently,” says her mother. “Her teacher also reports to me that she has become more active in class and asks more questions than before.”
STEMBees is an organization focused on encouraging and mentoring young African girls aged 8 to 18 to pursue their dreams and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. By the end of the Scaling Readiness program, the organization had supported 163 girls and developed a management structure, marketing strategy, and financial processes. They have also established a modern and fully equipped laboratory in Dansoman, Accra, with the capacity to accommodate more than 50 girls at once.
Ellen Otto is a 13 year old girl who attends Ansafona D A basic school in Ansafona. Prior to STEMbees Rural Outreach program, Ellen had seen but never used a computer because there were no computers in her school. She had never participated in science experiments, only knew about them from the textbooks she read in school.
"I never thought there will be a day when I will be able to operate a computer with ease, but today with the help of STEMbees I can write simple code using scratch programming and solve mathematical problems with ease within the shortest possible time. Now I know my dream of becoming a nurse in the future will be possible", - says Ellen. Her grades have drastically improved in Science, Mathematics and English since her engagement in the program.
The photos used on this article are sourced from the social media of the abovementioned organizations and are for illustrative purposes only. They do not depict the actual individuals or events described in the stories.
