Edtech startup, AltSchool Africa, Expands Its Reach to Kenya in East Africa

Kenya will be AltSchool Africa’s second initiative in East Africa after Rwanda. AltSchool Africa is a Nigerian educational technology (edtech) firm and has officially announced its expansion into Kenya. In order to help Africans transition into global technology professions, the organization offers a wide range of in-demand tech courses. With the position of country manager, Tabitha Kayvu leads the Kenyan division.

Established in 2021, AltSchool has rapidly gained traction in the edtech landscape. Its financial foundation received a significant boost with a $3 million investment in May 2023, coupled with an additional $1 million in pre-seed funding earlier the same year. The success of AltSchool extends beyond Kenya, with a strong presence in the United States and Rwanda, attracting learners from an impressive 105 countries. The platform currently boasts over 60,000 learners hailing from more than 100 countries.

Adewale Yusuf, one of AltSchool's co-founders, envisions a future in which ten million Africans have the skills required to find meaningful work and contribute to the continent's economic progress. He ranks Kenya as AltSchool's second-largest market, after only Nigeria. The decision to expand operations to Kenya has been driven by the country's high enrolment numbers..

Head of Growth and Partnerships at AltSchool Nifemi Akinwamide said that the company is in continuous communication with Kenyan communities and organizations, stressing that the growth is in line with the company's goal of providing Africans worldwide with the necessary skills to take advantage of opportunities in technology. Akinwamide makes vague mention of intentions to open in additional African nations where AltSchool has had notable success.

AltSchool Africa, despite providing virtual education, places a strong emphasis on building offline communities and partnerships for its learners. This strategy, successfully implemented in Nigeria, will be replicated in Kenya. Akinwamide stresses that the start-up’s focus extends beyond ensuring students merely graduate; rather, the emphasis is on ensuring learners understand what employers seek before completing their training.

Initially, AltSchool Africa concentrated on offering one-year diploma courses in software engineering. Over time, the edtech start-up has diversified its offerings, introducing new courses covering data engineering, sales, fintech product management, and digital marketing. The platform is organized into five distinct schools: data, engineering, business, product, and creative economy. AltSchool Africa now features short courses on sales, content, and music creation. Yusuf affirms that these course offerings will be maintained in Kenya and will be conducted in English, with future plans to introduce courses in Swahili.

AltSchool Africa adopts a flexible pricing model ranging from $20 to $50 per month for the duration of its courses. Additionally, the platform embraces the income-sharing agreement (ISA) model, a popular approach in the edtech industry. Under this model, students agree to share a percentage of their future income in exchange for reduced upfront costs.

The pressing gap between Africa’s ten million job seekers and the three million employed underscores a significant skills mismatch. AltSchool Africa offers itself as a bridge, providing students with globally sought-after skills in business, analytics, engineering, media, and the creative economy. The platform's expansion into Kenya demonstrates its commitment to solving this crucial need at a larger scale. As AltSchool Africa expands its footprint, it plays a critical role in altering the educational environment and educating African students for the challenges and opportunities of the global technology-driven economy.