STEMpower
STEMpower
 | |
| Founded | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Mark Gelfand |
| Type | Non-profit organization |
| Legal status | NGO |
| Focus | STEM education |
| Headquarters | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Area served | Africa |
| Methods | STEM Centers, Fab Labs, Mobile STEM Labs, Outreach Programs |
| Website | stempower |
STEMpower is a pan-African nonprofit organization focused on promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education across Sub-Saharan Africa. Its mission is to empower university and pre-university students regardless of gender, ethnicity, or economic status -- through hands-on STEM enrichment in every Sub-Saharan country, nurturing the next generation of innovators and problem-solvers.[1]
History
STEMpower was founded by American philanthropist Mark Gelfand, who has invested in science and technology education initiatives throughout Africa.[2]
STEMpower's roots go back to 2009, in the Foka section of the city Bishoftu, also known as Debra Zeyit, an industrial city 50 km south of Ethiopia's capital city Addis Ababa. The STEMpower founding team, then dubbed the Gelfand Family Charitable Trust ("GFCT"), was phasing in a replacement set of primary school buildings, in coordination with the Bishoftu municipal education bureau. Bishoftu mayor Driba Tura also approved the GFCT proposal to construct a purpose-built engineering education facility on half of the Foka school's adjoining football pitch, already bisected by an electrical power tower. When Lt. Col.Alemayahu Abera, dean of the nearby Defense Engineering College, heard of the plan to construct and operate a municipal engineering training facility for upper primary students, all bureaucratic impediments instantly disappeared. After a visit to the Foka STEM Center's four operating labs (electronics, computer, mechanics, optics), filled with students immersed in various studies and projects, Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, himself a former science teacher, the STEM Center concept became an urgent imperative throughout Ethiopia.
By 2013, the GFCT had constructed purpose-built STEM Center facilities in the largest Ethiopian cities: Addis Ababa, Mekelle-Kalamino, Gondar, Bahir Dar, and Hawassa, with the intent to cover the nation's Special High Schools, comprised of the nation's most advanced secondary school students.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian university system had expanded to over 50 government universities. STEMpower committed to establishing one STEM Center at each of those universities, partly because no longer was there a need to construct the lab buildings; the government university infrastructures now included internal space to house the STEM Centers.
In 2018, the GFCT organization evolved into STEMpower, Inc., as the STEM Center concept expanded from its initial Ethiopian focus to subsequently cover South Sudan, then many more East African nations, then across all of Sub-Sahara Africa.
Notably, all of STEMpower's activities has been accomplished through local African efforts.
Near-future STEM Centers
Bureaucratic delays, complex Customs import procedures, complex logistics, and infrastructure limitations are the limiting factors of STEMpower's expansion into the 9 remaining Sub-Saharan countries not yet operating a STEM Center. Few nonprofits have ever created permanent infrastructure in as many countries. STEMpower's multi-threaded approach to establishing its family of STEM Centers has proved a successful approach to dealing with those limiting factors. If one STEM Center is delayed, no problem, because other STEM Centers will likely be advancing to completion.
Programs
STEM Centers
STEM Centers are facilities that lie outside traditional education. Professors, administrators, and advanced students manage the training of university and pre-university students. Included with every STEM Center are Smart Classes, which are energy-efficient “thin-client” computer labs that serve 30+ students from a single PC, saving energy and reducing hardware costs. Also included with every STEM Center is an Electronics Lab, that teaches analog and digital electronics, microcontrollers, connectivity, and sensing devices. Some STEM Centers provide solar power installation, space science, mechanical engineering, and high school science labs (biology, chemistry, physics).
Competitive Science & Engineering Fairs
Beyond teaching STEM enrichment, STEMpower STEM Centers in Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Rwanda also serve as student resource facilities to help students participate in their country's annual competitive Science & Engineering Fairs. Students design and build working models that generally solve problems that they see in their community. Examples include handicapped assistance through technology, traffic control systems, farming technology, home alarms that send texts to mobile phones, food production, greenhouse and automation, Those events showcase student creativity beyond a hands-on learning experience, and the Fairs offer an opportunity for students to learn from other students residing in distant cities across their country.
One goal of the nearly-continental array of STEMpower STEM Centers is to scale up to an annual African Union Science & Engineering Fair, comprised of students from every Sub-Saharan country.
Entrepreneurship and Incubation
STEMpower and VISA International formed a partnership in 2020 to drive financial inclusion and job creation in Ethiopia for innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs.[3] STEMpower provides special national trainings on the Entrepreneurial Mindset, Entrepreneurial Skillset, and Basics of Financial Literacy to selected trainees, many have already created prominent engineering projects in our STEM Centers and national Science competitions.
Mobile Labs
In 2016, STEMpower Ethiopia designed and constructed a Mobile STEM Lab atop a heavy-duty truck chassis, and has been operating that traveling lab ever since, except during Covid-19 pandemic. The mobile lab provides STEM education for students attending underserved rural areas on the frontiers of the Bishoftu municipality. The mobile lab can reach any school in the country, due to the vehicle's strong construction, the built-in electricity and air flow, and the weather-tight design of the truck's cargo box classroom.
FabLab
STEMpower's FabLab, located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, bridges the transition from hands-on STEM education to product manufacturing. Inside the FabLab, innovative students design commercially-viable sophisticated products. Then the students implement their design, by machining raw materials, designing custom electronics, and ultimately producing attractive products.[4] STEMpower invited private schools to experience its FabLab and learn how the science kits align with Ethiopia’s national curriculum. Creativity and entrepreneurship are equally nurtured. Our FabLab creates jobs and sustainable industries.
University STEM Outreach
STEM enrichment can take advantage of the summer break (idle period) typical in most academic calendars. During that idle period, STEMpower encourages university existing assets (e.g., labs, dormitories, and cafeterias) and available university mentors (professors, and college students) to be efficiently utilized to create a "summer" program for hundreds of talented students in the university catchment area (i.e., local community.) The result and cost-benefit ratio was persuasive. After two years, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education fully incorporated our program, extending it to all public universities in its domain (~40 universities) as a permanent program run by the government. During the idle period, nearly every public university’s facilities transform into a large pop-up STEM center. Thousands of students across our STEM Centers benefit every year.
Partnerships
In 2020, STEMpower partnered with Visa to deliver financial inclusion and entrepreneurship training in Ethiopia, benefiting thousands of young people.[5][6]
The organization has also collaborated with institutions such as the United States Embassy in Addis Ababa to support entrepreneurship and STEM training.[7]
Expansion in Africa
STEMpower has established 147 STEM Centers across Sub-Saharan Africa, including more than 60 in Ethiopia.[8]
In Rwanda, the organization launched new STEM Centers, encouraging girls and young women to embrace science and technology careers.[9][10]
The initiative has also expanded to countries including Ghana,[11] Côte d'Ivoire,[12] Mali,[13] Cameroon,[14] and the Comoros.[15]
STEMpower's lab equipment is in every country in Sub-Sahara Africa. Opening STEM Centers in the final 8 countries is in progress, expected by end of 2025.[16]
Recognition and Awards
STEMpower has been featured in international media outlets such as The Times of Israel, AllAfrica, and Jewish Journal for its contributions to STEM education and youth empowerment.[17]
See also
External links
- Official website
- Gelfand Global STEMpower Initiative
- ENA: STEMpower, Visa Launch Entrepreneurship, Financial Mgt Training
References
- ↑ "Home". STEMpower. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ Allen, Bailey (2023-09-28). "How local philanthropist Mark Gelfand engineers knowledge in Africa". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ Visa (3 November 2020). "Visa and STEMpower partner to drive financial inclusion and job creation in Ethiopia". Visa Africa newsroom. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Visa. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ↑ Staff Reporter (15 April 2025). "STEMpower engages private schools to promote STEM education". The Ethiopian Herald. Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Press Agency. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ↑ "Visa moves to drive up financial inclusion in Ethiopia". CNBC Africa. 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ "STEMpower, Visa Launch Entrepreneurship, Financial Mgt Training for 3,600 Ethiopians". Ethiopian News Agency. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ @USEmbassyAddis (2023-11-07). "On November 2-3, the U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa and STEM Power hosted an entrepreneurial and financial education program" (Tweet). Retrieved 2025-08-25 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "STEMpower Inaugurates 100th STEM Center in Sub-Saharan Africa, 60th in Ethiopia". Shega. 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ "STEMpower USA To Open More Centers of Excellence In Rwanda, Sub-Saharan Africa". KT Press. 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ "Rwanda: Stempower Urges Girls, Women to Embrace Stem Education". AllAfrica. 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ "AAMUSTED, STEMpower open free robotics lab for high schools to complement government's TVET policy". MyJoyOnline. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ Ngono Atangana, Vanessa (2024-03-26). "Côte d'Ivoire : STEMPower ouvre un centre d'ingénierie STEM à l'université de San Pedro". Agence Ecofin. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ "Laboratoire électronique de l'ISA". Université des Sciences, des Techniques et des Technologies de Bamako. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ Assongo, Hindrich (2024-10-30). "Coopération STEMPower – Université de Dschang". Université de Dschang. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ Gamal, Kamal (2025-08-18). "Université des Comores: STEMpower remet à l'UDC un lot de matériel informatique". La Gazette des Comores. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ Yohanes Jemaneh (13 February 2025). "STEMpower plans major STEM expansion across Africa". The Ethiopian Herald. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Ethiopian Press Agency. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ↑ Borschel-Dan, Amanda (2023-08-10). "Seeding STEM centers in Africa, NGO looks for crop of scientists to cultivate continent". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
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