Ethiopian Startup Turns High Achievers into Mentors with Peer-to-peer Tutoring Platform

Ethiopia’s educational landscape has undergone sweeping reforms in recent years. Though conceived as long-term remedies for an ailing system, the rapid pace of change has ended up cutting short the academic paths of hundreds of thousands of young people.

Parents and students, facing this uncertainty, have turned to creative ways to improve performance on national exams that carry enormous weight for future careers. Some hire private tutors to increase their children’s chances of passing. But for most households, the cost is simply too high.

Two brothers, fittingly named Aristotle and Plato Gebremedihin, believe they have found a solution. After eight months of development, the pair launched a peer-to-peer tutoring platform that allows students to learn directly from other students.

Called Temari le Temari, meaning “Student for Student” in Amharic, the project launched two months ago. It accepts applications from high-achieving students and assesses their compatibility with clients seeking tutors. Academic performance, behavioral records, and extracurricular activities are all reviewed before a match is made. The platform also uses geographic proximity as an additional factor in pairing tutors and students.

Aristotle, whose own high-flying academic journey led him to roles at Coca-Cola Beverages, McKinsey & Company, and the consultancy Acasus, says he has finally found his true calling. Nearly two years ago, he left his consulting career to address a problem he felt could be solved with a bit of ingenuity.

“Students who have excelled in the system are best suited to pass on what they’ve learned to others,” Aristotle told Shega. “We’re simply providing the tools.”

Hourly tutoring fees average around 250 Birr, which the co-founder says is lower than most alternatives in the market, particularly those that lack Temari le Temari’s screening process. The platform, which has already onboarded about 200 parents, takes a small commission from tutor earnings. It has yet to integrate with an in-app payment system, but tutoring sessions can be rescheduled or canceled within set time frames, and late cancellations may incur additional fees.

The brothers hope the platform will grow into a trusted option for parents seeking affordable tutoring while providing promising students with income opportunities. In recent years, several startups have emerged to address Ethiopia’s deepening education crisis, sparked by low national exam performance. Last year, only 8.4 percent of more than 585,000 students who sat for university entrance exams earned passing grades. Exit exams for graduating students have fared little better, with more than half failing in the first year of their introduction.

A number of technology-based solutions have since entered the market. Some offer practice questions and digital tutoring by former examinees, while others provide alternative skill-building programs outside the traditional academic track. The results have been mixed, with most benefits concentrated in urban areas. Globally, peer-to-peer tutoring marketplaces have become quite popular with the growing adoption of digital learning, with some estimates valuing the market at close to $2 billion.

Temari le Temari’s creators hope their approach will stand out by giving parents practical digital tools and students a more personal, peer-based experience. Registration is open only to users over 18, and the number of sessions depends on the amount of credit purchased from the platform.