Africa's EdTech Breakthrough
This document enumerates the formal governance artifacts that define authority, accountability, separation of powers, and risk mitigation across Africa’s EdTech Breakthrough Project. Each artifact specifies its mandate, scope, authority holder, and lifecycle status.
Mandate: Continental policy vision for digital education.
Authority Holder: African Union (via AUDA-NEPAD).
Scope: Policy intent and outcomes; no implementation endorsement.
Status: Approved. Launched in final form at the AU STI Week, Addis Ababa, February 2026.
Mandate: Principles guiding interoperable, vendor-neutral digital education systems.
Authority Holder: African Union (via AUDA-NEPAD).
Scope: Policy and procurement alignment.
Status: Approved.
Mandate: Define the functional requirements of a DPI for Education.
Authority Holder: AUDA-NEPAD (policy intent); global DPI community (evolving norms).
Scope: Specification layer only.
Status: Endorsed at policy level.
Mandate: Evolve DPI-Ed building blocks for multi-country usability, with Africa leading on low-resource delivery requirements.
Authority Holder: GovStack Consortium; joined by Spix Foundation.
Scope: Technical specification evolution and guidance.
Status: Ongoing.
Mandate: Technical stewardship of the RESPECT reference implementation.
Authority Holder: Spix Foundation.
Scope: Codebase maintenance, releases, and interoperability.
Status: Active.
Mandate: Stewardship of the RESPECT Ecosystem and its economic sustainability.
Authority Holder: Spix Foundation.
Scope: Ecosystem integrity, revenue mechanisms, geographic expansion, and brand protection.
Status: Active.
Mandate: Protect the RESPECT trademark as the funding engine of the Platform.
Authority Holder: Spix Foundation.
Scope: Licensing, compliance, and enforcement.
Status: Active.
Mandate: Independent governance of certified products by category.
Authority Holder: Respective Associations (with Spix Golden Veto for brand protection).
Scope: Certification standards and compliance.
Status: In formation (Tranche 1).
Mandate: Certify “Boots on the Ground” for pilots and roll-outs.
Authority Holder: Spix Foundation.
Scope: Training, certification, and quality assurance.
Status: In formation (Tranche 1).
Mandate: Define and certify the DPI Engineer discipline.
Authority Holder: Independent professional body (incubated by Spix).
Scope: Curriculum, exams, certification.
Status: In formation (Tranche 1).
Mandate: Time-bounded continental coordination and policy domestication.
Authority Holder: AUDA-NEPAD.
Scope: Coordination only; no platform control.
Status: Planned / Time-bounded.
Mandate: Custody and disbursement of donor funds against verified milestones.
Authority Holder: Appointed fiduciary (TBD; candidates include IsDB, World Bank, AfDB, BADEA, with Global South preference).
Scope: Project funds; milestone-gated disbursement.
Status: Planned, to be chosen by Project Convenor & AUDA-NEPAD.
Mandate: Verify milestone achievement and outcomes.
Authority Holder: Appointed Independent Auditors.
Scope: Output verification; no operational authority.
Status: Planned for Tranche 1.
Mandate: Regulate sponsorship-funded support for free products and localizations.
Authority Holder: Spix Foundation; fiduciary oversight for initial period.
Scope: Revenue allocation, compliance, and reporting.
Status: In formation (Tranche 1).
Mandate: Maintain an accurate, bounded historical record of foundational and scaling contributions.
Authority Holder: Project Convenor.
Operational Custodian: Independent Historian (retained by Convenor).
Scope: Attribution only; no governance or financial rights.
Status: Active.
Mandate: Govern the transition of incubated bodies to independent entities.
Authority Holder: Spix Foundation (execution); receiving entities (post-handoff).
Scope: Product Associations, professional bodies.
Status: Planned (Tranche 1 completion).
Mandate: Align incentives and adoption across all stakeholder categories.
Authority Holder: Spix Foundation.
Scope: Ministries of Education (MoEs), Non-MoE Schools, App Developers, Localizers, Certified Impletors & Partners, Educators, Researchers, MNOs, Funders.
Status: Active.
Mandate: Oversight of Spix operations.
Authority Holder: Spix Foundation Board of Directors.
Scope: Organizational governance.
Status: Active (Board expansion in progress).
These artifacts collectively define a governance system designed to minimize capture, ensure accountability, preserve sovereignty, and enable durable scale—while maintaining strict separation between policy authority, implementation, funding, and recognition.