African Business has featured Rori in a new article examining the potential, and the practical challenges, of using artificial intelligence to improve learning across Africa.
The article looks at a growing number of AI-enabled education tools being tested across the continent, including Rori, Rising’s AI-powered maths tutor delivered through WhatsApp.
It highlights early research conducted with researchers from the University of Oxford and J-PAL in Ghana, where students using Rori made substantially greater progress in maths than students in the comparison group. A larger evaluation is now underway across multiple districts in Ghana.
But the article also asks the harder question: can promising results from relatively small trials translate into affordable, effective solutions at scale?
That question is central to Rising’s approach. Technology alone is not enough. New tools need to work in real classrooms, fit alongside teachers, operate within infrastructure constraints and demonstrate that they can improve learning without creating unsustainable costs or implementation burdens.
As Hannah Horne-Robinson, Rori Research and Assessment Manager, explains in the article, Rori is designed to make students work through problems rather than simply provide answers. When a learner gets stuck, the tutor provides feedback and hints before giving them another opportunity to try.
The article also explores wider questions around connectivity, data protection, localisation and the role of teachers as AI becomes more widely used in education.
For Rising, these are exactly the issues that need to be understood before any new technology should be considered ready for wider adoption.
Read the full African Business article: Artificial intelligence is coming to African schools: https://www.african.business/2026/10/long-reads/artificial-intelligence-is-coming-to-african-schools?utm_source=chatgpt.com
