Education is transformative, bringing people the skills, knowledge and tools that can lead to more equal and just societies.

While great advancements have been achieved over the last decades, there’s still lots to do on a global scale. The app ecosystem has proven fertile ground for educational services that improve access to knowledge and skills, helping to bridge gaps and foster positive change.

Here we look at four apps that are successfully giving people around the world access to helpful resources that support their education and development.

Beelinguapp adds a unique spin to language learning. Users learn through storytelling in the form of audiobooks, music and news articles in over a dozen of languages.

About the founder: When Mexican developer David Montiel arrived in Germany for work, he needed a way to improve his grasp of the local language. He came up with the idea for Beelinguapp after finding traditional learning methods slowed him down and realising that having text alongside the translation could help him learn. “Language learning is enhanced when the topic students are studying is fun and entertaining,” he says.

The positive impact: Languages are not only basic components of educational curriculums and essential tools in all sorts of industries, businesses and trades, they’re also important in another way: “A big part of language learning involves getting to know the culture of the people who speak the language,” Montiel says. “By promoting that, we are bringing people together.” Beelinguapp makes this possible for millions of users in a refreshing, engaging and effective way.

Inspiring story: “A user once wrote to us to say that his 70-year-old mother used Beelinguapp on a daily basis to improve her Spanish. That meant she was able to communicate with his wife and bring the family together.”

Popular content to explore: “Song: The House of the Rising Sun”, “Cinco de Mayo, A Mexican American Celebration” and “Women Who Rock: Three Female Rockers in History”.

Education app Papumba is designed for kids between the ages of 2 and 7, and is stocked with fun activities, stories, videos and more to help your little one’s early learning.

About the founders: As parents, Gonzalo Rodriguez and Pablo Capurro noticed that there weren’t many meaningful, ad-free education tools for children in languages other than English. Papumba was created to fill that gap, bringing parents interactive and educational experiences across multiple languages to boost their kids’ learning and social-emotional development.

The positive impact: Access to education and technology can be a challenge in certain regions of the world, and the predominantly Latin American team behind Papumba understand the importance of making it more accessible. They want their app to be an affordable platform, which is one of the reasons why they created Papumba Basic, a subscription plan that offers some of the app’s content for free.

Inspiring story: “Once, a Brazilian parent shared the story of his son, who has a mild form of autism. He told us that their child became fascinated with Papumba and has a strong interest in school and is making remarkable progress,” says Rodriguez.

Popular content to explore: Check out the Bedtime Habits and ABC Tracer games, as well as the Ready for School video collection, which is the most viewed in Papumba. There’s also Say No Bullying, a game co-created in partnership with an NGO that works with schools to tackle bullying and cyber bullying.

Platzi is an educational hub for anyone interested in starting or continuing their learning journey. Its more than 1,000 online courses focus on topics such as digital content creation, coding and leadership.

About the founders: In 2011, Freddy Vega and Christian Van Der Henst launched an online learning platform that would lead them to the creation of edtech startup Platzi two years later.

The positive impact: “In Latin America, it can take up to 10 generations for a family to escape poverty. In this reality, the only answer is effective education that’s accessible to all. It requires a relevant education that takes into account the social and work context,” says Nicole Chapaval, Platzi’s chief of staff.

Inspiring story: At age 50, a Venezuelan mother left her country and moved to Argentina to be with her son. After discovering Platzi, the former school principal became a Python Developer after she learned how to code with the courses available in the app.

Popular content to explore: Platzi’s School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, English Academy and School of Leadership are some its most popular destinations.

Crehana is an online learning platform that puts the power of education in the hands of anyone with a mobile device. Through a wide range of online courses, users can expand both personal and professional horizons with the guidance of subject-matter experts, all in Spanish.

About the founder: After an inspiring trip to Silicon Valley in 2013, CEO and founder Diego Olcese started an entrepreneurial journey to establish a company dedicated to the universal development of people. He and COO and co-founder Rodolfo Dañino went on to launch this trailblazing e-learning platform in the Spanish-speaking world.

The positive impact: A Peruvian edtech company, the team behind Crehana want to bridge the education gap
in Latin America. With more than 1,000 online courses and 18 specialised academies, the app helps its users develop their skills and enhance their professional profile.

Inspiring story: In partnership with NGOs and through social impact programmes, Crehana has to date awarded more than 3,000 educational scholarships to people from vulnerable communities.

Popular content to explore: Crehana’s most popular courses are “Redes sociales desde cero” and “Excel básico para principiantes”. The top courses for those who work in business are “Soft skills essentials para el éxito profesional” and “Manejo de Tiempo y productividad”.