Esther Manthi

Community Bursary Award Holder

MBA (2025)

I am an MBA candidate at the University of Oxford (Class of 2025-2026), with a background in technology and a growing focus on the responsible and context-aware integration of artificial intelligence across education systems. 

I am deeply grateful to David Scrymgeour and Career Essentials Inc. for their generous support, and to St Cross College for recognising my work. This award represents both an encouragement and a responsibility to continue pursuing work that contributes meaningfully to society. 

Prior to Oxford, I worked at the intersection of technology and access, leading initiatives that expanded digital and AI education for young people across underserved communities in Africa. Through Brains For AI, I have focused on designing learning experiences that enable individuals not just to use AI tools, but to understand and apply them in ways that are relevant to their local contexts. 

My time at Oxford is helping me refine this work further, shifting from access alone to a deeper focus on how institutions — particularly schools and learning systems — integrate AI responsibly, with attention to governance, pedagogy, and long-term capacity. 

The Community Bursary provides critical support that allows me to fully engage in the academic, collaborative, and experiential opportunities at Oxford. It also enables me to continue developing ideas and partnerships that I hope will contribute to building more inclusive and contextually grounded AI ecosystems across Africa. 

I remain committed to using my training and experiences to support the thoughtful and equitable application of technology in ways that strengthen institutions and expand opportunity.