Samson Wambuzi
Growing up in a rural Ugandan community where school access depended on distance, cost, and luck has shaped Samson Wambuzi’s life’s work. Today, he is the co-founder of Yiya Solutions, building education systems for young people who are often left behind. A physics teacher by training and a Makerere University graduate, Samson has spent over a decade working within Uganda’s education system; today, he is building one for young people who are often left behind. Under his leadership, Yiya created AirLearning – Africa’s first offline platform that enables learners without internet access to complete full courses through radio and basic mobile phones. Since 2020, Yiya has reached more than 40,000 youth, with over 70% completion rates in three-month learning courses. Yiya AirLearning users start small businesses and apply life skills learned, like resilience, problem-solving, and creativity, to improve their livelihoods and communities.
Samson is a 2019 Moonshot Fellow at Claremont McKenna College and a 2023–2024 Obama Scholar at Columbia University; he was featured on CNN Inside Africa for his work pioneering EdTech in Uganda. At the 2026 Global Edtech Startup Awards, Yiya won the Emerging Markets Award.