In a sunlit room at Nairobi’s iHUB, a group of teachers lean over laptops, laughing and sharing tips on how to make math lessons come alive through interactive digital tools. For many of them, this moment represents a turning point, a chance to move beyond chalk and talk, into classrooms powered by creativity, collaboration, and technology.
This energy encapsulates what iHUB set out to celebrate through its inaugural iHUB Teachers’ Awards, launched during this year’s World Teachers’ Day festivities. The awards spotlight educators who are reimagining teaching through innovation , blending technology and peer learning to transform how students engage, think, and dream.
Innovation from the Classroom Up
The Teachers’ Awards are more than just accolades. They are a recognition of a movement — teachers who are finding ingenious ways to connect lessons to life using digital tools and community-driven ideas. Winners receive cash prizes, tablets, professional development opportunities, and access to the iHUB Teachers’ Lounge, a vibrant network where educators can share, mentor, and grow together.
The initiative forms part of iHUB’s month-long celebration of educators, declared as Teachers’ Month, under the global theme “Teacher Agency: Empowered by Community, Amplified by Technology.” It echoes UNESCO’s 2025 call to “recast teaching as a collaborative profession” — a vision that iHUB has taken to heart.
“Teachers are central to Africa’s education transformation,” said Nissi Madu, Managing Partner at iHUB. “When teachers are empowered through technology, mentorship, and peer support, they are better equipped to innovate in the classroom and enhance the quality of teaching and learning.”
Technology as a Tool of Empowerment
Across Kenya, classrooms are changing. From rural schools experimenting with low-cost e-learning platforms to urban institutions adopting AI-powered tools, teachers are increasingly becoming designers of their own digital futures. Through initiatives like the iHUB Teachers’ Lounge, EdTech training programs, and access to subsidised digital tools, iHUB is helping educators bridge the gap between innovation and implementation.
For many teachers, this support means gaining the confidence to experiment. It means moving from using technology as an accessory to making it central to learning — from virtual science experiments to student-led podcasts and peer mentorship platforms.
One teacher attending the celebration captured it best: “Innovation doesn’t always mean big inventions. Sometimes it’s how you use a simple tool to make a child believe in themselves again.”
Building Communities of Practice
What sets iHUB apart is its belief that innovation flourishes in community. Over the past decade, iHUB has become a cornerstone of Kenya’s education and innovation ecosystem — connecting teachers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and policymakers to co-create solutions that work for African classrooms.
Its work in building communities of practice, running instructional design fellowships, and offering advisory support to education organisations has cemented iHUB’s role as a key driver of EdTech adoption on the continent. The Teachers’ Awards, therefore, are not a one-off celebration, but an extension of this mission — to strengthen teacher agency and build ecosystems that let educators thrive.
By collaborating with government agencies, private sector players, and development partners, iHUB is demonstrating that technology in education isn’t just about gadgets — it’s about people, purpose, and potential.
A Profession Under Pressure
Globally, the world urgently needs 44 million teachers by 2030 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. According to UNESCO, Sub-Saharan Africa faces one of the steepest challenges, requiring 15 million new teachers in the next five years alone. The gap is driven by high attrition rates and growing learner populations, with seven out of ten secondary-level teaching positions needing new recruits or replacements.
In Kenya, the government through the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) announced plans to recruit an additional 24,000 teachers by December 2025, bringing the total number of new hires to 100,000, supported by a KES 2.4 billion allocation in the 2025/2026 financial year. Yet even as the numbers grow, it is innovation — not just recruitment — that will define the future of education.
And this is where iHUB’s work becomes crucial. By equipping teachers with digital skills, fostering peer mentorship, and promoting creative teaching approaches, iHUB is helping educators do more with less — making each teacher’s impact go further, even amid systemic shortages.
Reimagining the Future of Teaching
The celebration of World Teachers’ Day 2025 at iHUB was as much a reflection as it was a launchpad. Panel discussions explored how Artificial Intelligence, data literacy, and digital collaboration could redefine what it means to teach and learn in Africa. Teachers exchanged ideas, shared challenges, and discovered tools that could simplify administrative work while amplifying creativity in the classroom.
Behind the smiles and applause, there was a deeper message: that teaching is no longer confined to classrooms or textbooks. It is a living, breathing process shaped by curiosity, connection, and innovation.
Through the Teachers’ Awards, iHUB is not just honouring educators — it is helping them rewrite the story of African education.
In celebrating teachers as innovators, iHUB reinforces a powerful truth: when educators are trusted, trained, and supported, they become architects of transformation — using technology not to replace the human touch, but to magnify it.
As the curtain fell on this year’s Teachers’ Month, one thing was clear — Africa’s classrooms are not waiting for change; they are creating it.
