Komlan Abalo Braly

Komlan Abalo Braly is a multi-award-winning educator and one of West Francophone Africa’s most transformative teacher-innovators, proving that world-changing education solutions can emerge from the most under-resourced settings when teachers lead from the ground up. His journey began in 2014, when, while completing a degree in Applied Science, he volunteered at Tchitchao village’s only newly created high school – where students had no science teachers or textbooks. Unable to walk away, he discovered his calling: to help students master learning in ways that could lift entire families out of poverty. 

A forcibly internally displaced youth who grew up where 82% of children could not read a simple sentence by age 10, Komlan committed his life to combating learning poverty. Without formal teacher training, he used stipends, fellowships, and modest volunteer earnings to train himself into a Master Teacher Trainer – guided by a belief that different outcomes require differently equipped teachers.

He pioneered Speech-Spark, a teacher-led model that blends Structured Pedagogy, Right-Level Teaching, Social & Emotional Learning, and Education for Sustainable Development. Piloted in his own classrooms, Speech-Spark transformed Tchitchao High School into Togo’s first teacher-driven national educational model, later endorsed by the Ministry of Education. In 2023, the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel recognized the pedagogy he employs as one of the world’s most cost-effective approaches to improving learning outcomes. 

By grouping students by learning level rather than age, he raised literacy and numeracy by 25%, improved national exam pass rates by 35%, and achieved up to 90% classroom success rates. His school became the first high school in the world to win the 2024 UNESCO Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development. To date, Komlan has reached over 3,000 learners and trained 200 Master Trainers, each supporting 10 additional teachers, enabling nationwide scalability. 

His students’ successes illustrate the model’s power: girls who could not read at age 10 now mentor others, and some – like Abiré – have gone on to win prestigious international scholarships, including the Mastercard Foundation award.

Beyond the classroom, Komlan advances sustainable development and girls’ education through community partnerships, literacy camps, and youth leadership programmes. As a Global Schools Advocate, One Million Leaders Africa Mentor, AU/CIEFFA alum, and Youth on Adaptation & Leadership representative, he equips students and teachers to lead environmental action, reducing school waste by 40% and driving reforestation and climate-solution initiatives.

His leadership earned him global recognition, including the 2025 Global Sustainability Award and formal commendation from the Delaware House of Representatives for community-based teacher leadership. He has been invited to speak as the only in-field high school teacher at the 2025 UNESCO World Summit on Teachers, where he presents his pioneering model of “Glocal Teachers’ Training.” 

Featured in the HundrED 2026 Global Collection as one of the world’s most scalable innovations, Speech-Spark reflects Komlan’s core belief: that teachers – when empowered – can transform education systems from within.