Educate! partners with schools and governments to reform what schools teach and how they teach it, so that students in Africa have the skills to start businesses, get jobs and drive development in their communities.
Educate! utilises mentorship programs, practical skills training and student business clubs to teach pupils in Ugandan, Rwandan and Kenyan secondary schools to solve local problems. Under the model, mentors each work with 40 selected students at partner schools to come up with social enterprises and community projects. These students then practise their leadership skills by mentoring three lower secondary students.
By the turn of the century, 50% of the world’s children will be African. We’re working to ensure that these youth have the skills to become the generation that solves poverty.
Boris Bulayev – Executive Director and Co-Founder, Educate!
Educate!’s students recruit and collaborate with other students in their schools to create business clubs, which are experiential platforms for students to start enterprises in teams with support from their mentors. To keep its operational model sustainable, Educate! trains at least two teachers and one administrator from each partner school in how to use their teaching methods. In 2019, Educate! has partnered with the government to pilot in 60+ schools in Kenya, is working in 175+ secondary schools in Rwanda and 800+ schools in Uganda (25% of the country), reaching over 44,000 students intensively and 545,000 more broadly.
Why you should care
Africa has the youngest population of all the continents, with 200 million people aged between 15 and 24. However, this age group accounts for 60% of total unemployment. With 94% of its graduates now running a business, holding a job or attending university, Educate! demonstrates a way to empower this young workforce and help solve unemployment problems.
How the Global Goals are addressed
Quality Education
Educate’s empowerment model is helping to eliminate gender inequality in education. According to Educate!, female graduates receive 120% higher incomes and are 152% more likely to own their own businesses than female non-graduates.
Decent Work and Economic Growth
The Educate! model equips youth for the workforce and encourages them to start businesses, create jobs and grow the economy.