Rapelang Rabana & Joe Wolf, 2025 Prize Winner
Rapelang Rabana and Joe Wolf are redefining what’s possible for children who are furthest from educational opportunity. As co-CEOs of Imagine Worldwide, they are delivering a massively scalable, evidence-based education technology solution to the global foundational learning crisis. Imagine’s solar-powered, offline tablets deliver personalized learning to Africa’s most marginalized children — because literacy and numeracy are the keys to unlocking a child’s potential.
Under their visionary leadership, Imagine Worldwide has become a global leader in self-guided, tablet-based literacy and numeracy programs that are rigorously tested, grounded in evidence, and delivered in partnership with local communities and national governments. The results are transformational: nine randomized controlled trials across different countries, languages and contexts have shown substantial gains in learning outcomes, even in the absence of trained teachers, internet, or electricity. From reaching 6,000 students in 2022 to over 700,000 by early 2025, their nearly 100-fold growth reflects both the scalability and demand for their approach.
Wolf, who co-founded Imagine Worldwide in 2017, brings strategic vision and operational insight from a career in education, entrepreneurship, and civic philanthropy. Rabana, a computer scientist who launched South Africa’s first free mobile VoIP service, has helped shape Imagine’s vision, technology, and impact as board member, board chair, and head of technology before joining Wolf as co-CEO in 2023. Together, they exemplify the bold innovation and impact that define the McGraw Prize.
