Open Letter from Dumena: Championing Transparency and Grassroots Impact in African Innovation

To the African innovation community and its stakeholders,

At Dumena, we are committed to empowering African children aged 5 to 18 with transformative technology education, fostering skills to thrive in a digital world.

Our work is deeply rooted in Nigerian communities, where we prioritize measurable, grassroots impact.

Yet, as revealed in a Fact-Finding Report on the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship Cohort 1, compiled by Izesan Limited on May 31, 2025, following their open letter, systemic barriers within the African innovation ecosystem hinder local innovators like us.

The report uncovers a critical issue: only 4 of 12 startups in the cohort demonstrate active community engagement and are locally based. The majority are either led from abroad or lack a local-facing strategy, suggesting a selection process that often favors externally connected startups over those with genuine grassroots impact. This marginalizes innovators embedded in the communities they serve, undermining the goal of an inclusive ecosystem.

Our experience at Dumena mirrors this challenge. Despite our dedication to fostering innovation and education in Nigeria, we have faced opaque selection processes and a lack of constructive feedback from institutions like CcHUB.

This lack of transparency stifles our growth and limits our ability to amplify our impact. The core problem is an ecosystem that prioritizes optics over demonstrated local impact, failing the very communities it aims to uplift.

We stand in solidarity with Izesan Limited and other local innovators who share our commitment to community-driven change. We raise our voice to demand reform, calling on all stakeholders to address these systemic issues by:

Ensuring transparency in selection criteria, prioritizing startups with measurable community engagement.

Providing constructive feedback to empower local innovators to grow and succeed.

Ending silent gatekeeping, fostering an inclusive ecosystem that amplifies community-driven innovation.

Together, we can build an ecosystem where grassroots impact is celebrated, and every innovator has a fair opportunity to thrive. Dumena is dedicated to this vision, and we invite you to join us in creating a truly inclusive African innovation community.

Sincerely,
The Dumena Team