EdTech: Koa Academy’s Rise in Scalable Online Education

South Africa’s education landscape has changed drastically since the COVID-19 pandemic, making way for alternative, tech-enabled learning models. As traditional schools struggled to adapt to remote teaching, many learners were left behind, victims of underprepared systems and poorly executed online strategies. Amid all this digital debris, a quiet outlier emerged.

Koa Academy, launched with just five students during lockdown, has grown into one of South Africa and Africa’s most promising online schools. With over 700 learners in 50 countries, and a 100% Matric pass rate under the IEB curriculum for the past two years, Koa is not just another edtech startup. It’s a considered, human-centric reimagining of what schooling can be in the digital age.

From WhatsApp to Global: Koa Academy’s EdTech Launch Story

At the recent LeaderX summit, Koa Academy co-founder Lauren Anderson shared how the school was born out of frustration with the state of emergency online education in 2020. Together with her husband, Mark Anderson, an experienced educator, the couple launched Koa Academy from their home during the height of the pandemic.

“With two young children at home and no real online schooling options that worked, we decided to build our own solution,” says Lauren, a healthcare professional with experience in adult training. The first cohort of students joined through a WhatsApp group and a bit of Facebook marketing.

What started as an improvised workaround quickly evolved into a structured, technology-driven learning platform grounded in both academic rigour and emotional support.

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Reimagining Classrooms: Koa’s EdTech Model Explained

Unlike other online schools that attempted to replicate physical classrooms online, Koa Academy was built from the ground up with a different philosophy. Lauren drew from her previous work training nurses in the Eastern Cape, where she delivered mobile-based, interactive content in low-bandwidth environments.

“We created training that could be accessed via cellphone and was gamified to the point where a nurse could apply knowledge in real-time as patients walked in,” she explains. That same philosophy of mobile-first, engaging, and accessible, now underpins Koa’s curriculum.

At the heart of Koa’s academic model are small live 'pods' - groups of around eight learners per teacher - designed to facilitate high-touch, personalised instruction. These pods operate with a strict cameras-on policy, enabling visual engagement and accountability. The approach is further supported by real-time progress dashboards, frequent emotional check-ins, and a mix of synchronous masterclasses and asynchronous content.

Koa students are encouraged to design their own timetables, allowing them to align learning with their natural rhythms. “If one student prefers Maths in the morning, they can schedule it that way,” says Anderson. “The flexibility caters to different working speeds and styles.”

How Koa Academy Built Trust in Online Education

Launching an online school from scratch – not pivoting – presents a unique challenge: establishing trust. For parents, students, and even regulatory stakeholders, online education can seem risky without a proven track record.

Koa tackled this by focusing on a pedagogically robust, ethically sound, and technologically reliable offering. Core elements of the trust-building strategy included:

• A high-quality, evidence-based curriculum 
• Rigorous teacher training and support 
• Real-time feedback loops for students and parents 
• Fair and transparent assessments 
• Strong ethical practices
• An emotionally intelligent approach to student engagement

The name Koa itself reflects these values. Named after the resilient Koa tree, renowned for its strength and flexibility, the brand represents a learning model that is both academically solid and adaptable to the learner’s needs. 

“We wanted our curriculum to be rigorous but flexible. That’s why the name Koa resonated with us,” says Anderson.

Koa's Approach: Scaling EdTech Without Losing Quality

Koa’s growth story is notable not just for its numbers, but for its consistency in quality. From an initial five learners to over 700 across more than 50 countries, the school has scaled sustainably, avoiding the trap of hypergrowth at the expense of learner outcomes.

Despite the geographic diversity of its student bases, Koa maintains uniform standards across the board. Every new learner undergoes thorough onboarding, receives regular diagnostic assessments, and is guided through a learning pathway tailored to their pace and goals.

The school’s track record speaks volumes: a 100% Matric pass rate under the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) for both years it has had matriculants. These results are achieved through early interventions, individual tracking, and a pedagogical model that blends autonomy with accountability.

“We weren’t just trying to meet what was needed — we wanted to exceed it,” says Anderson. 

EdTech for Impact: Koa’s Work in South African Schools

While Koa’s core model is a premium offering, its mission has always extended beyond the privileged. The academy recently completed a pilot project in partnership with 13 government schools, where top-performing learners were supported using Koa’s infrastructure, teachers, and curriculum resources.

“We received top achievers from each school and worked with them using past exam papers and targeted revision material,” explains Anderson. “The feedback was incredible.”

The pilot, although modest in scale, proved a crucial point: Koa’s model is adaptable enough to serve under-resourced communities, provided there is baseline infrastructure in place. Power outages and poor internet connectivity remain real barriers in South Africa, but with government and private sector support, this model could be rolled out more widely and make technology-enabled education more accessible. 

Why Koa Academy Matters in the Future of African EdTech

The broader African edtech sector is still underfunded, accounting for only 4% of African-tech fundraising. Yet, Koa Academy represents what’s possible when deep domain expertise meets user-centred design and scalable technology. Built by founders who understand both education and solution delivery, Koa avoids the gimmicks and focuses on outcomes. 

In a continent where access, quality and flexibility are critical, Koa’s model offers a compelling vision for the future of schooling. It doesn’t just digitise learning, it redefines what learning can look like when done right.

“There’s something so exciting about being able to take high-quality education and get it into the hands of anybody, anywhere,” says Anderson. And increasingly, that’s exactly what Koa is doing.