XPRIZE Launches $6 Million Education Prize Competition to Close Gaps in Global Literacy and Numeracy at Scale

XPRIZE Accelerate Learning aims to help first-graders master reading and math in one year instead of four, with affordable solutions within India and Sub-Saharan Africa designed to scale worldwide

CULVER CITY, Calif., Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Seven in 10 children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple sentence by age 10. In Sub-Saharan Africa, that figure rises to nine in 10. To help close this global learning gap, XPRIZE today launched XPRIZE Accelerate Learning, a $6 million, two-year global competition designed to incentivize breakthrough solutions that help first graders master foundational reading and math earlier, more affordably, and at scale.

Supported by a coalition of global funders and partners, the initiative aims to cut the time it takes children to master these essential skills from four years to one, for as low as $10 per child, reaching nearly one million students in target communities. Winning solutions will establish new models in regions across Sub-Saharan Africa and India, which governments and communities can adopt, sustain, and scale well beyond the competition.

"XPRIZE Accelerate Learning reimagines what's possible for every child, regardless of geography, income, or circumstance," said Anousheh Ansari, Chief Executive Officer, XPRIZE. "We're challenging innovators to harness the latest in technology and learning sciences to develop solutions for each child's pace, language, and cultural context. By putting the child and their learning ecosystem at the center, we can unlock lifelong opportunities for children and families around the world."

Decades of investment have expanded access to primary education, yet millions of children continue to advance through school without mastering the skills they need to succeed. Overcrowded classrooms, limited support for teachers, language barriers, and learning solutions that fail to adapt to individual children and their communities can make progress difficult to sustain.

The consequences extend far beyond the classroom. Children who do not develop foundational literacy and numeracy early are more likely to fall behind as they advance through school, limiting their future educational and economic opportunities. 

XPRIZE Accelerate Learning aims to deliver solutions for first-grade students across two competition tracks:

• The Core Track ($5M) - Teams compete to bring the most first-graders to mastery of foundational literacy and numeracy within one year. Teams must achieve gains of at least ≥25 percentage-point improvement in mastery for under $10 per child per year, in solutions built to scale across entire school systems.
• Last Mile Moonshot Track ($1M) - Teams build tech-based solutions alongside teachers in target communities. Teams must achieve gains of at least ≥50 percentage-point improvement in mastery under $40 per child per year.

Competing teams will be paired with a local school or district to co-design, test and implement solutions with selected countries and communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and India to ensure communities and local governments can support long-term adoption.

XPRIZE Accelerate Learning is sponsored by a coalition of funders, with partnership from the Republic of Rwanda, ShikshaNext, British Asian Trust, African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, Equity Group Foundation, and IDinsight, whose collaboration helps advance the initiative's mission and expand its reach.

"Rwanda's Vision 2050 depends on a skilled and productive workforce, and that journey begins with children who can read, understand and apply what they learn. Our LARS 2025 assessment reminds us that we must do more to close the gap between reading words and understanding them. We welcome XPRIZE as a partner in accelerating solutions and invite Rwanda's innovators, educators and researchers to help transform learning outcomes for every child," Joseph Nsengimana, Minister of Education, Rwanda.

The competition is open to everyone, and encourages startups, nonprofits, universities, corporations, government agencies, consortiums and individuals to compete in either or both competition tracks. Registration closes February 15, 2027 for the Last Mile Moonshot Track and March 15, 2027 for the Core Track.

Learn more and get involved at xprize.org/acceleratelearning

About XPRIZE
XPRIZE is the recognized global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity's greatest challenges. For over 30 years, our unique model has democratized crowd-sourced innovation and scientifically scalable solutions that accelerate a more equitable and abundant future. Donate, learn more, and co-architect a world of abundance with us at xprize.org.

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