What is the name of your organization?
e-Mentor
What is the name of your solution?
e-Mentor
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
e-Mentor is democratizing access to quality education for displaced students and refugees in Africa through immersive VR technology.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Douala,
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
Cameroon
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
—
What specific problem are you solving?
The global education crisis, driven by conflict and displacement, has denied millions of children access to quality learning opportunities. In Sub-Saharan Africa, over 34 million children and youth are forcibly displaced (UNHCR, 2023), and many face prolonged disruptions in their education, unsafe learning environments, and limited access to trained teachers and learning resources.
In Cameroon, more than 1.5 million people are internally displaced (OCHA, 2024), and the ongoing armed Anglophone conflict has led to the closure of over 4,000 schools. As a result, the education of over 700,000 children has been severely disrupted. I personally experienced this crisis when my education was interrupted for an entire academic year due to the conflict—a reality faced by hundreds of thousands of other youth.
Without access to education, displaced students are at greater risk of poverty, child labor, recruitment into armed groups, and crime. This educational exclusion fuels cycles of violence and instability, undermining peacebuilding efforts and threatening long-term development in the region.
What is your solution?
e-Mentor is an immersive educational platform that uses Virtual Reality (VR) technology to democratize access to quality education for internally displaced learners and refugees through curriculum-centered courses. Our solution provides high-quality education to students in conflict-affected areas, refugee camps, and regions with limited infrastructure.
Unlike traditional e-learning platforms, e-Mentor operates fully offline, using standalone VR headsets powered by solar energy and SIM cards, ensuring accessibility without reliance on electricity or internet connectivity. The platform offers interactive, teacher-designed courses tailored to local curricula, allowing displaced learners to engage in structured education despite crisis conditions.
e-Mentor has already impacted over 824 students and trained more than 170 teachers, demonstrating its potential to scale across Africa and bridge the education gap for displaced and underserved learners.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solution primarily serves internally displaced students and refugees in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly those affected by armed conflicts, such as the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon. These students face severe disruptions to their education, with schools being shut down, teachers displaced, and learning environments becoming unsafe. Additionally, they lack access to educational resources, technology, and structured support, leaving them behind academically.
e-Mentor bridges this gap by providing an immersive and interactive learning experience through curriculum-centered courses designed by trained teachers. Our platform offers high-quality lessons in a fully immersive format, helping these marginalized students engage deeply with their education, fostering better knowledge retention and comprehension.
The standalone VR headsets we use are solar-powered and SIM-operated, ensuring that these students can access learning without needing reliable electricity or internet connectivity—a game-changer for those in refugee camps, conflict zones, and remote areas.
Beyond delivering lessons, e-Mentor integrates students into a broader learning community, allowing them to connect with peers and receive structured teacher support, which helps reduce isolation and strengthen their academic growth. By providing access to quality education despite displacement, e-Mentor helps prevent learning loss, supports long-term academic success, and offers hope for a more stable future.
