LEVA Foundation’s  flagship coding programme has been selected for a six-month acceleration programme focused on helping inclusive African education solutions grow their impact.

Tangible has been selected as one of ten education ventures taking part in the 2026 Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, delivered in South Africa by Injini. Jackson Tshabalala, Global Engagement Manager at LEVA Foundation, is participating in the fellowship on behalf of Tangible.

The fellowship supports growth-stage African education ventures with the potential to improve learning outcomes and reach communities that have often been overlooked. The 2026 cohort has a particular focus on inclusive education, including solutions designed for young women, people with disabilities, refugees, displaced people and young people in rural areas.

For Tangible, the selection recognises an approach built around the realities of the classrooms in which teachers and learners are working.

Designed for the classrooms that exist

Many education technology solutions begin with a device, reliable connectivity or access to a computer lab. Tangible begins with a different question: how can teachers introduce coding and computational thinking using the resources they already have?

Tangible combines physical coding pieces with simple gamesand digital feedback. Learners work together to build a solution, test it, and make changes when it does not work. The approach places problem-solving and collaboration at the centre of the experience, rather than individual screen time.

It also allows teachers to facilitate coding activities without needing prior programming experience. This makes Tangible practical for a wide range of settings, including schools and communities where devices, connectivity and specialist skills may be limited.

Injini highlighted this accessibility when introducing Tangible to the 2026 cohort, describing it as an approach built for “the classrooms that actually exist across the continent”.

Strengthening the systems behind the programme

Tangible has grown from a South African university project into a programme used by teachers, schools, libraries and learning spaces in countries around the world. As its reach grows, the challenge is not simply to deliver more activities. It is to build the systems that allow more people to use the programme while maintaining its quality and usefulness.

The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship is designed to support that next stage. Over six months, fellows receive mentorship and specialist support in areas including educational innovation, inclusive design, impact measurement, fundraising and commercial strategy. The programme also provides market research, opportunities to connect with the wider education sector and more than R1 million in equity-free venture funding.

Participants also contribute to a growing body of evidence about what works in African EdTech. This matters for Tangible because itslong-term value depends on more than the number of learners who complete an activity. LEVA wants to understand how repeated participation develops problem-solving skills, builds teacher confidence, and creates pathways into further STEM learning and economic opportunity.

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Recognition and an opportunity to learn

Being selected for the fellowship is an importantrecognition of how far Tangible has come, but its greater value lies in whatLEVA can learn through the process.

The fellowship creates space to examine Tangible’s modelwith support from specialists, strengthen how impact is measured and make theprogramme more accessible to learners across different contexts. It will alsohelp LEVA refine the systems needed for teachers and partners to deliverTangible consistently as the network grows.This reflects LEVA Foundation’s wider role. LEVA does not only develop programmes. It builds the governance, partnerships, learning systems and pathways that allow practical ideas to grow responsibly and endure.

Tangible may begin with a coding game, but the aim is larger. It gives learners an opportunity to discover that they can solve unfamiliar problems, contribute to a team and develop skills that can support their future participation in learning and work.

Joining the 2026 Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship gives LEVA an opportunity to strengthen that pathway and help more teachers and learners take the first step.