Topics
Digital education in Africa.
What three years of practical work have taught us — about hardware, internet, electricity, and most of all the schools that carry the whole thing.
Digital education at African schools isn't a hardware problem alone. It's a mix of procurement, electricity, internet, teacher training, maintenance — and above all a school taking long-term ownership. This page bundles our work into four themes.
01 — Hardware
Buy locally, or ship from abroad?
Since November 2024 we've been buying computers at markets in Kumasi, complemented by container imports from the US. Both have their place. The reasoning is less about logistics than about economic policy: buying locally means buying along serviceability, warranty handling, and local economic strength.
- Why we buy computers locally — field report from the first deployment
- Container imports for scaling (field report in preparation)
02 — Internet
Starlink as a game-changer for rural schools.
Where fiber is missing and mobile coverage is unreliable, satellite internet has actually closed the gap. We've been running a Starlink kit through Ghana's official reseller structure since March 2025 — antenna and hardware stay owned by the gUG, the school covers the running fee.
- Starlink is live in Kumasi — install, model, what's possible now
03 — Model + law
How a school takes responsibility for itself.
Outside help only works if the receiving institution steps up. So we require every partner school to invest its own resources (e.g. building the lab room) and cover operating costs. The hardware stays owned by the gUG — that prevents theft, privatization, and protects the charitable use of funds.
- Nutzungsüberlassungsvertrag — how we separate ownership from usage rights
- Vermögensbindung (asset binding) — why hardware can't end up in private hands
- Transparency — how we document use of funds
04 — Donations + tax
What donors need to know.
Every donation to our German charitable UG is fully tax-deductible in Germany. We send the receipt automatically. For the details — annual cap, simplified receipt, carry-forward — there's a long-form guide.
- Tax-deductible donations in Germany — practical guide
- Glossary — terms like § 60a AO, Zuwendungsbescheinigung, Sonderausgaben at a glance
- Donate directly — with FAQ, tier examples, and SEPA details
All posts on the topic
From the blog.
15 January 2030
What we learned in 2029
Year-in-review before the official annual report. Five concrete lessons on what we'll change, what was confirmed.
15 October 2029
What happens when hardware fails
A PC breaks down — who repairs? Who pays? How does the spare part get to Kumasi? Concretely, based on the case from July 2029.
15 July 2029
First student voices
Three students and two teachers describe what the computer lab has concretely changed in their learning. Anonymised, with permission.
15 April 2029
A day in the computer lab
7 am open, 5 pm close, six classes in between with real learning progress. A regular Wednesday in Bremang.
15 January 2029
How a tax receipt is actually generated
Behind the scenes: from the Stripe webhook through PHP, TCPDF, S3, and Postmark to a finished German tax receipt in 60 seconds.
15 October 2028
Why we started with one school instead of ten
Scale pressure is everywhere in the NGO sector. We decided against it — deliberately small, but clean.
15 July 2028
Starlink for African schools — what actually works
Which tariff, which hardware, which latency, what happens during power outages — three years of operating experience in Kumasi.
15 April 2028
From charitable application to first donation — 4 months
What concretely happens between "we want to set up a gUG" and "first donation comes in". Step by step with timeline.
15 January 2028
Why a gUG instead of a registered association?
Three legal forms for non-profit work in Germany compared — e.V., gGmbH, gUG. Why we picked the gUG.
15 October 2027
Solar or grid? A tech decision
When we expanded with a solar backup in Kumasi we had to decide — what argues for solar, what for grid only, and what we chose.
15 July 2027
Three myths about digital education in Africa
Containers of old hardware, free devices, "as long as it's a computer" — three common assumptions that don't hold up in practice.
15 April 2027
How we pick schools
Three hard criteria — own contribution, climate-controlled room, named lead person — and three warning signs. Why we say no often.
15 January 2027
Understanding the German tax receipt — Anlage 1 vs. simplified receipt
Which receipt you get for which donation, what it states, and how to use it on your German tax return. No legalese.
15 October 2026
What does a computer lab actually cost?
An honest breakdown of the ~€25,000 for devices, container, AC, Starlink, and cabling at Christian Life Academy in Kumasi.
15 July 2026
Three weeks in Kumasi — diary of a school setup
How a two-week volunteer stint in November 2024 became EmpowerED Africa's first project. An honest day-by-day account.
10 March 2025
Starlink is live in Kumasi
After the expansion to 40+ PCs, we installed Starlink in the computer lab. Here are the details — and why we chose this model.
5 December 2024
Why we bought the first computers locally
The first 15 PCs came from a market in Kumasi. That wasn’t an accident — and it wasn’t a limitation.
Get involved
So the next project can happen.
Every documented donation becomes hardware, internet, or maintenance.
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€25
1 month of Starlink
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€60
Class supplies for a month
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€150
Access to learning platforms
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€500
One more school PC
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€1,200
A complete workstation unit
Tax receipt by email · Statutory charitable requirements confirmed under §60a AO.
Concrete impact
Every donation supports concrete work on the ground.
€25 can help fund one month of Starlink internet. €500 can help provide one refurbished school PC.
The tax receipt (Zuwendungsbescheinigung) is sent by email. The statutory requirements for charitable status have been confirmed by Finanzamt Lübeck under §60a AO.
- €25can help fund one month of Starlink internet
- €150can help fund learning materials for one class
- €500can help fund one more school PC