From Ashaiman to the World: Making Mathematics Matter

How Dr. Angela Tabiri is inspiring thousands of young people in Ghana and beyond to see mathematics as a pathway to confidence, creativity, and opportunity.

 

For Dr. Angela Tabiri, mathematics has always represented possibility.

Growing up in Ashaiman, an under-resourced community in Accra, Ghana, she saw how easily talented students can lose confidence when they lack inspiring role models or opportunities to experience mathematics beyond the classroom. Today, as a recipient of the Schlumberger Foundation’s Faculty for the Future Impact Prize, she is transforming that experience into a movement that is helping thousands of young people discover the power of mathematics as a pathway to confidence, problem-solving, innovation, and future careers.

Dr. Tabiri believes mathematics is a universal language that connects people across cultures, communities, and genders. Every child deserves the opportunity to explore that language and develop the confidence to use it , to understand the world, solve real-life challenges, and imagine new possibilities.

“My goal is to transform students’ experiences in mathematics from anxiety to agency,” says Dr. Tabiri. “When children discover they can solve challenging problems through play, they begin to believe they can succeed – not only in mathematics, but in any challenge they face.”

Following international recognition as the World’s Most Interesting Mathematician in 2024, Dr. Tabiri launched the MathsQueen National STEAM Circuit, an ambitious initiative designed to make mathematics creative, hands-on, and accessible for children across Ghana. Through interactive puzzles, games, and storytelling, the program invites students to experience mathematics as a subject of exploration, creativity, and discovery – one that can open doors to future opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and beyond.

 

The initiative builds on years of outreach through Dr. Tabiri’s Femafricmaths programme, which has been inspiring girls to pursue careers in mathematics since 2018. Her innovative learning modules including magic squares, mathematical calendars, bitmaps, and mirror numbers have already demonstrated impressive reach. In 2025 and early 2026, more than 25,000 primary school pupils in the United Kingdom participated in online sessions she designed, while students across Ghana have benefited from community workshops and school masterclasses that make abstract concepts tangible through play.

The Faculty for the Future Impact Prize will enable the next phase of this work. Funding will support the creation of the MathsQueen Digital Hub, bringing interactive learning resources and virtual mentorship to thousands more students, alongside a national roadshow delivering hands-on mathematics activities to rural communities. The prize will also train and certify 50 female mathematics teachers as MathsQueen Ambassadors, creating a network of local champions who will inspire and support learners long after the program ends.

 

By making mathematics engaging, inclusive, and visible, Dr. Tabiri is doing more than improving learning outcomes. She is empowering a generation of young people especially girls , to see themselves as scientists, engineers, innovators, and problem-solvers of tomorrow: the people who will help shape Africa’s future.