I should declare a bias up front. I run Ganzaa. So when I review “learning apps for Rwandan students,” I am, by definition, reviewing a category I compete in. I'm going to try to be honest anyway — partly because lying about competitors is bad practice, but mostly because I think Rwandan students deserve a real comparison rather than another marketing post.
Ground rules:
- I've actually used every app I review here. Not just visited the website.
- I'll point out where each one is genuinely better than Ganzaa, including for the cases where Ganzaa loses.
- I'm focused on apps that have a real free tier, not 7-day trials.
What I evaluated on
- Curriculum fit with REB — does it teach the actual Rwandan syllabus, or a generic curriculum?
- Works offline — most Rwandan students have spotty data. Apps that require constant connection are unusable for many kids.
- Languages — English, Kinyarwanda, and ideally French.
- Free tier that's actually usable — not crippled, not pushed behind a constant upgrade prompt.
- Quality of feedback — does it tell you why you got something wrong?
1. Ganzaa (ganzaa.org)
Best for: Rwandan curriculum students from P1 to S6.
Strengths:
- REB-aligned across primary and secondary, with practices tagged by official competence number
- Past papers from recent years, free, with interactive auto-marking
- Works offline as a PWA — no install needed, just “Add to Home Screen”
- Available in English, Kinyarwanda, and French
- Built in Kigali by people who sat the exams
- Free tier is genuinely useful, not crippled
Weaknesses:
- Smaller content library than the global brands in some niche subjects (advanced economics, advanced statistics)
- Video lessons are still being expanded — not yet at parity with Khan Academy's sheer count
- Less Kinyarwanda content for upper secondary than I'd like (we're working on it)
I'm biased here so take this with the appropriate grain of salt.
2. Khan Academy
Best for: Filling foundational gaps in math, physics, and computer science.
Strengths:
- Massive free content library — among the best in the world
- Excellent video explanations, especially for math fundamentals
- Strong adaptive practice that adjusts difficulty as you go
- The mobile app works fine on cheap Android devices
Weaknesses:
- Curriculum is US-centric — topic order doesn't match REB
- English-only for the vast majority of content
- Doesn't connect to Rwandan exam style at all
- Offline mode requires the mobile app and is fiddly
Honest assessment: Khan Academy is genuinely better than Ganzaa for foundational math concepts. If you're an S2 student who never properly learned algebra, the Khan Academy algebra videos are the best free resource on the internet for that. But for exam prep against the Rwandan syllabus, you need something else.
3. Eneza Education / Shupavu291
Best for: Students with feature phones (no smartphone).
Strengths:
- Works on basic feature phones via SMS
- Strong East Africa coverage (Kenya, Uganda, increasingly Rwanda)
- Very low data usage
Weaknesses:
- Limited interactive features by the nature of SMS
- Curriculum closer to Kenyan than Rwandan (topic ordering differs)
- Free tier is limited; full access requires a small monthly fee
Niche but important — for the substantial population of Rwandan students whose only mobile device is a feature phone, Eneza is one of the few options.
4. YouTube (specific channels)
Best for: Watching one specific concept you're stuck on.
Strengths:
- Free, vast variety
- Some excellent Rwandan teacher channels (search for the topic in Kinyarwanda + the grade)
- 3Blue1Brown for visual intuition on harder math (calculus, linear algebra)
Weaknesses:
- Quality varies wildly — no curation
- No structure or progress tracking
- Hard to find Rwanda-specific content unless you know what to search for
- YouTube's recommendation algorithm pulls kids toward entertainment
YouTube is a tool, not a curriculum. Use it to fix a specific gap, not as a primary study path.
5. REB's official e-learning portal
Best for: Downloading official REB textbooks and syllabi.
Strengths:
- Official REB content — exactly what your exam is set against
- Free
- Includes the syllabus document, which is gold for understanding what topics actually matter
Weaknesses:
- Limited interactivity
- Frequently slow or down
- UI is hard to navigate
- Search is bad
Underused by students. The textbooks and syllabus are a free, official resource. Even if you're primarily using Ganzaa or Khan Academy, download the syllabus document for your grade. It tells you exactly what topics will be tested.
6. Duolingo (for English / French)
Best for: Casual language vocabulary practice.
Strengths:
- Excellent for vocabulary and basic grammar
- Genuinely fun — kids actually use it without being told to
- Strong free tier
Weaknesses:
- Doesn't teach the academic English skills tested in Rwandan exams (extended writing, comprehension of long passages)
- French course is decent; doesn't cover everything in the Rwandan French syllabus
- No Kinyarwanda
Use Duolingo as a vocabulary supplement, not as your primary English/French preparation.
What to skip entirely
I'll be blunter than usual:
- Apps that promise to “do your homework for you.” They don't teach you anything. The exam doesn't care about your homework completion.
- AI essay generators marketed at students. Apart from the academic-integrity issues, you're depriving yourself of the practice that builds writing skill.
- Apps that don't show you why you got something wrong. Memorising answers without understanding the method gets you 30% on the next exam, not 80%.
- Anything that aggressively pushes paid upgrades on every screen. The free tier is meaningless if it's a constant nag.
My recommendation
If you have a smartphone and you're studying for the Rwandan curriculum:
- Start with Ganzaa. Use it for REB-aligned practice and past papers.
- Add Khan Academy when you need extra math practice or a foundational concept explained well.
- Use YouTube when stuck on one specific topic.
- Download the REB syllabus and textbooks once, refer back to them.
- Skip the homework-doing apps and the essay generators.
If you only have a feature phone:
- Eneza/Shupavu291 is your best option.
One more thing
The best app for Rwandan students is the app you actually use. I've seen kids with the “perfect” setup learn nothing because they never opened it. I've seen kids with one mediocre app and a notebook get into the University of Rwanda's medical school.
Pick a tool. Use it daily. Mark honestly. Sleep well. The rest is just doing the work.
If Ganzaa is the tool you pick, sign up free — no card, no subscription. If you're evaluating for a school, book a demo. If neither — that's fine too. Just pick something and start.
