Why widening access to education is fundamental to positive impact

Can you imagine your day-to-day life without a computer? Now imagine trying to start your own business without one. That was the situation for Buyiswa Twala, a 23-year-old entrepreneur living in South Africa. She’s passionate about fighting food insecurity – an issue that affects some 70 per cent of people in her country. She is developing affordable organic fertilizers and compost to replenish soil for farming. Twala taught herself organic chemistry and even created her own lab. But without money for a computer, she was lacking access to important skills and to regular exchanges with others working on similar topics.

That changed when Twala secured a fellowship that allowed her to purchase her first computer and undergo a learning programme that not only helped with the launch of her soil health project, but also taught her the computer skills she needs to flourish in her ongoing studies.

The great equaliser remains out of reach for many  

Why am I telling you Twala’s story? Education is often heralded as the great equaliser. But the reality is that access to education remains out of reach for millions worldwide. In particular, the costs associated with higher education create barriers that alienate a significant portion of the global population, perpetuating cycles of inequality and injustice. From tuition fees to expenses for essential learning tools (such as computers) or the fact that many would-be students are forced to work and earn money for their families rather than continue their education, the financial burden of pursuing education is shutting the doors of opportunity for a large number of aspiring learners. This doesn’t just stifle individual potential, it also deprives society of the diverse talents and perspectives needed to tackle the complex challenges of our time.

Widening access to education has been part of the mission of the DO School for the past 10 years. Our focus has been on supporting young people with ideas about how to build impactful ventures, thereby enabling them to create innovation and employment opportunities in their respective communities. The fellowship received by Twala is called beVisioneers and launched in 2023 with 100 fellows around the world. That number is rising to 500 for the second cohort and we plan to double that to 1,000 annually from the third cohort.

By ensuring that a minimum of 50 per cent of our fellows come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the fellowship seeks to empower grassroots innovators to drive change from within, with solutions that are not only impactful but also authentically rooted in the lived experiences of those they serve.

Making programmes more inclusive

Of course, funding is required to allow such access to education. In the case of beVisioneers, donations from Mercedes-Benz make the implementation of a financially inclusive learning programme possible. Based on our experience to date, I can only recommend that other funders of educational programmes and fellowships consider how they can boost the inclusiveness of their programmes.

For example, existing barriers to higher education often lie within the requirements demanded of applicants, such as a certain track record of academic or other achievements. However, our view is that entrepreneurial success is not dependent on academic achievement but instead rests on a deeply rooted understanding of a problem, alongside a true desire and passion to create change. We do not ask for academic degrees to be eligible for our learning programmes and fellowships in the belief that offering an alternative pathway to education allows young people to learn and grow in non-traditional ways, sometimes helping them to leapfrog from high-school dropout to successful entrepreneur.

To further increase access and reach scale, technology is clearly a huge enabler. With AI applications coming into the industry, there is tremendous potential in the years to come. AI can help individualise learning paths, while offering faster access to knowledge and supporting the development of key skills. Every educational institution should consider how they can increase the efficiency of their offers through new technological solutions and pave the way for more people to access education.