Photo L to R: Albert Nsengiyumva, Executive Secretary, ADEA | Ndeye Aby Ndaw, Director, Elementary Education, Ministry of National Education, Senegal | Dr. Conrad Sackey, Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Sierra Leone | Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Founder & CEO, HCA | Dr. Benjamin Piper, Director of Global Education, The Gates Foundation | Anders Holm, Executive Director, Hempel Foundation | Lindiwe Chide, Deputy Director, Quality Assurance, Ministry of Education, Malawi./ PHOTO ; Courtesy
African Ministers of Education, philanthropists, and civil society organizations have launched three flagship initiatives at the 2025 Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Triennale in Accra to tackle the continent’s learning crisis and fast-track progress on foundational learning.
The new initiatives, the Foundational Learning Initiative for Government-Led Transformation (FLIGHT), the African Foundational Learning Assessment Initiative (AFLAI), and the Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX) Indicators, mark a decisive step toward an Africa-led, evidence-driven education reform movement.
Together, they aim to strengthen data systems, enhance accountability, and channel local technical expertise to help countries deliver large-scale learning improvements.
“Africa must rely on its own domestic resources.”
Opening the Triennale, Her Excellency Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Vice President of Ghana, called for a new era of self-reliance and innovation in education reform.
“I believe that the 2025 Triennale will strengthen collaboration in Africa, and we believe that the time has come for Africa to rely on its own domestic resources to solve its problems. We need to prepare our education systems for rapid technological change and digital transformation, going beyond coping to create and contribute.”
Her remarks reflected the spirit of the Triennale, a call to transform political will into sustained, homegrown action.
Africa’s decisive decade for learning
The urgency is clear: nine out of ten children on the continent still leave school unable to read a simple sentence or solve a basic math problem.
Evidence shows that foundational learning, the ability to read, write, and do basic math, is the most powerful investment a country can make in its people.
The African Union has committed to ending learning poverty by 2035, with over 30 nations domesticating that goal through national campaigns and pledges.
Improving foundational learning directly drives productivity, employment, and economic growth, forming the foundation for success in secondary and tertiary education.
With Africa’s youth projected to make up one-third of the world’s young people by 2050, leaders emphasized that foundational learning is both a moral imperative and a global economic necessity.
FLIGHT: Government-led transformation
The Foundational Learning Initiative for Government-Led Transformation (FLIGHT) is a $35 million, government-led, demand-driven initiative connecting countries’ priorities with African technical expertise and catalytic financing.
Co-created by African education ministries, ADEA, Human Capital Africa (HCA), Learning Masterminds, and Haske Consulting, it aims to strengthen education systems using evidence-based, locally developed solutions.
Initial philanthropic partners include Echidna Giving, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Hempel Foundation, and the Roger Federer Foundation.
Speaking on behalf of the funders, Anders Holm, CEO of the Hempel Foundation, said:
“ FLIGHT is exciting because it fills that gap. It is government-led, African-designed, and results-focused, bringing in practical expertise exactly where countries tell us it is needed most. We invite other funders, particularly from the continent, to join us, as we all have a huge stake in the success of Africa’s young people, starting from its youngest learners.”
FLIGHT’s design reflects lessons from the collapse of traditional overseas development assistance (ODA), focusing on country priorities and tapping Africa’s own technical talent.
The consortium will finalize its operational model in 2026 and is inviting additional African funders to join.
AFLAI: Data to drive reform
The African Foundational Learning Assessment Initiative (AFLAI) strengthens national assessment systems, promotes knowledge sharing, and improves data use for policy and resource allocation.
It brings together policymakers, data organizations, and partners to help countries collect and use comparable, high-quality learning data.
Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, CEO and Founder of Human Capital Africa, said:
“AFLAI has emerged as a bold continental effort to strengthen Africa’s learning assessment system, generate reliable data, and support governments to use evidence to measure and improve foundational learning reforms. It serves as a compass guiding instruction, resource allocation, and accountability.”
The initiative helps countries improve data use and communication, set benchmarks, build capacity, and explore innovations such as artificial intelligence and language equity.
By promoting government-led assessments and reducing dependence on external testing, AFLAI aims to build sustainable systems for evidence-based decision-making.
FLEX Indicators: Accountability in action
To track progress toward ending learning poverty, ADEA and its partners launched the Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX) Indicators, an accountability framework based on commitments made at the 2024 Foundational Learning Exchange in Kigali, Rwanda.
Albert Nsengiyumva, Executive Secretary of ADEA, said:
“The accountability framework is designed to be simple, actionable, and aligned with African Union processes, particularly the forthcoming CESA 2026–2035 framework. It will serve as a cornerstone of the FLEX 2026 Conference, where countries will present their progress against a common set of indicators. Zambia and Kenya are among the first countries engaged in piloting the framework, with additional countries expected to join in the lead-up to FLEX 2026.”
The FLEX framework tracks five key commitments:
- Enhance inter-country collaboration
- Adapt, integrate, and scale evidence-based approaches
- Improve production and use of quality data and accountability mechanisms
- Accelerate impact through efficient use of national resources
- Increase coordination of partner initiatives at the country level
Together, FLIGHT, AFLAI, and the FLEX Indicators represent a pivotal moment for African education, one where governments lead reform, philanthropy enables innovation, and progress is tracked transparently.
“Solving the learning crisis is achievable,” said one education official at the Triennale.
“The tools, evidence, and commitment are here. What we need now is to stay the course together.”
About ADEA
The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)advocates for education in Africa. Its mission is to empower African countries to reform their education systems and position themselves for sustainable development. It works with governments, development partners, and civil society to shape policies that improve education systems and learning outcomes.
About the Hempel Foundation
The Hempel Foundation is a philanthropic organization headquartered in Denmark, driven by a global ambition to ensure that every child has access to quality foundational learning.
With a particular focus on improving reading and math proficiency, the Foundation invests in cost-effective, scalable solutions that address the needs of learners in low-resource settings.
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