Closing the Global Literacy Gap Starts Here

An estimated 757 million people are unable to read this sentence because they remain illiterate, and one in 10 adults in the US cannot read. To bridge this opportunity gap, Pearson and the Unreasonable Group have partnered together to launch “Project Literacy Lab,” the world’s first accelerator for entrepreneurs dedicated to closing the global literacy gap by 2030.

Project Literacy Lab brings together 16 high-growth ventures headquartered across five continents to collectively scale their technologies and products to combat illiteracy worldwide. Examples of ventures include Guru-G, the fastest growing app in India helping teachers teach; Edovo, tablet technology for incarcerated adults in the US; and Livox, an AI learning platform that customizes teaching for students with disabilities.

Check out the above slideshow for highlights from the week. And if you’d like an easy way to throw your hat in the ring, sign this petition from Project Literacy, intended to keep illiteracy top of mind for influential global leaders.