What Dignitas Project does

Dignitas Project is a Kenya-registered nonprofit education development organization founded in 2008 and headquartered in Nairobi, with a US correspondence presence in Palo Alto, CA. The organization partners with schools in low-resourced communities across 17 Kenyan counties and South Sudan to improve instructional leadership, teaching quality, and learner outcomes. Its core product set comprises four school-partnership programs — Stawisha (the award-winning flagship SILI program for instructional leadership), Ongoza (a financial-support-plus-training program for non-formal APBET schools, co-developed with IDP Foundation and Premier Credit Kenya in 2022), Ustadi (a two-year school leader professional development program with Global School Leaders), and Effective Leadership for Early Years Learning — supported by cross-cutting mechanisms including Leadership Academies, ongoing coaching, Professional Learning Communities, and Professional Development Workshops.

Its proprietary EdTech platform, LeadNow, is a data-driven, mobile-based coaching application built on Laravel, Vue.js/React, React Native/Flutter, and MySQL with offline functionality, capturing educator engagement, assessment, and competency data to drive personalized coaching interventions. Adjacent offerings include the Dottie Scholarship for girls (since 2011), the Book Aid International library program (since 2019), and the Tailored for Education school uniform program (since 2012). Research collaborations span Coaching at Scale with KEMI, the EQUIP EdTech equity study with Shule Direct and STIR Education, and the TSIL CBC implementation project.

Dignitas is funded entirely through donations and philanthropic partnerships; programs are delivered directly through its School Support team and embedded within Kenya's MoE, TSC, and KEMI structures. Cumulative impact through 2023 is reported at 375,498 learners reached across 1,469 school partnerships and 6,209 school leaders trained.

Name

Dignitas Project

Legal name

Dignitas Project

Website

https://dignitasproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dignitas Project is a Kenya-based nonprofit founded in 2008 that partners with schools in 17 Kenyan counties and South Sudan to deliver educator training, ongoing coaching, and EdTech via its LeadNow platform, reaching over 121,000 students annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery (EDADALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB), Education Access & Quality (International Development) (BPAGABAE), Teacher Training, Professional Development & Education Leadership (BPADAKAC), Research, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Partnerships (EDADALAK), STEM, Digital Skills & Innovation Partnerships (EDADALAJ)

Keywords

• Educator coaching services
• School leadership training
• Professional development programs
• Education EdTech platform
• Teacher capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropic Contributions: Dignitas is a nonprofit organization that funds its operations entirely through donations. The donate page offers tiered giving options ranging from $15 to $3,500+ per intervention area, including card, Mpesa, cheque, and GlobalGiving campaign options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Dignitas Project partners with schools in low-resourced communities across Kenya and South Sudan to deliver educator coaching, school leadership training, and school improvement programs. Its core offering combines in-person training, ongoing coaching, Professional Learning Communities, and the LeadNow mobile-based EdTech platform to empower teachers and school leaders to improve instructional quality and learning outcomes.

Product overview

Dignitas Project is an education development organization that offers a multi-component approach combining training, coaching, and EdTech to empower educators in marginalized communities. The core offerings include Stawisha (award-winning flagship one-year school partnership program), Ongoza (school improvement program launched 2022), Ustadi (two-year school leadership development), and Effective Leadership for Early Years Learning. The digital platform LeadNow enables data-driven, mobile-based coaching for educators. Dignitas also operates research and collaboration programs (Coaching at Scale, TSIL, Equity in Ed-Tech, Digital Skilling) and school support programs (BookAid, Tailored for Education uniform distribution, Dottie Scholarship). Key delivery mechanisms include Leadership Academies, ongoing coaching, Professional Learning Communities, and Professional Development Workshops. The organization works across Kenya's low-resourced communities in 17 counties and in South Sudan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stawisha Instructional Leadership Institute (SILI): Award-winning flagship one-year school partnership program for school leadership teams to improve quality of teaching and learning in APBET or Public Schools.
• Ongoza
• Ustadi School Leadership Institute (USLI)
• LeadNow
• Dottie Scholarship
• Effective Leadership for Early Years Learning
• VoICE

Products and services

• LeadNow A data-driven, mobile-based coaching application for educators and school leaders that enables training module delivery, progress tracking, goal-setting, and expert feedback on assignments. Captures engagement data, performance metrics, and competency levels to support personalized coaching interventions.
• Stawisha (Stawisha Instructional Leadership Institute - SILI) Award-winning flagship one-year school partnership program for school leadership teams committed to improving the quality of teaching and learning in APBET schools or public schools. Combines Leadership Academies, Professional Development Workshops, school-based coaching, and Peer Learning Communities.
• Ongoza School improvement program launched in 2022 in partnership with IDP Foundation and Premier Credit Kenya, designed to improve quality and learning outcomes through financial support, school leadership training, and improving teachers' ability to deliver Kenya's Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
• Ustadi School Leadership Institute (USLI) Two-year professional development program for School Leaders (head teachers and their deputies) to improve instructional leadership and learning outcomes, run in partnership with Global School Leaders, working within existing education structures.
• Effective Leadership for Early Years Learning Program that strengthens partner schools' leadership and improves instructional quality for early-year learning, focusing on child safeguarding, Early Years curriculum implementation, and equipping teachers with Early Years instructional methodologies.
• Digital Skilling for Educators Partnership with KNATCOM (Kenya National Commission for UNESCO) to develop a digital training manual for Early Years Educators and Special Needs Educators, with accompanying tools and resources for remote training and school-based implementation.
• Dottie Scholarship Scholarship program launched in 2011 providing support to bright young girls from marginalized communities with the opportunity to attend high-quality secondary school while developing leadership skills.
• BookAid Program Partnership with Book Aid International since 2019 to distribute library books to APBET schools in urban informal settlements around Nairobi, promoting a culture of reading that supports literacy and learning.
• Tailored for Education Uniform Program Partnership since 2012 with Tailored for Education (TFE) to distribute school uniforms (including shoes, socks, and undergarments) in partner schools in Nairobi's urban informal settlements, removing barriers to learning.

Quantifiable outcome

• Children in Dignitas classrooms learn three times as much as peers in non-Dignitas classrooms
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• IDP FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022IDP Foundation is a key partner in the Ongoza program (launched 2022), which provides financial support, school leadership training, and CBC curriculum coaching to non-formal schools in Kenya. Ongoza means 'Lead' in Kiswahili.
• Premier Credit KenyacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Premier Credit Kenya provides low-interest school improvement loans to school owners enrolled in the Ongoza program, alongside training on school financial management and record-keeping. The program is designed to improve quality and learning outcomes in APBET schools.
• Book Aid InternationalsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Since 2019, Dignitas has partnered with Book Aid International to distribute library books to APBET schools in urban informal settlements around Nairobi. The initiative promotes a culture of reading and supports literacy and learning.
• Tailored for Education (TFE)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Since 2012, Dignitas and TFE have partnered to distribute school uniforms (including shoes, socks, and undergarments) to learners in Nairobi's urban informal settlements. In 2025, this reached 8,730 learners across 35 community schools in Nairobi and Kisumu.
• Global School LeaderscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal School Leaders partners with Dignitas to run the USTADI School Leadership Institute (USLI), a 2-year professional development program for school leaders. They co-developed the USTADI Leadership Toolkit for Education Officers in Kenya.
• KEMI (Kenya Education Management Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKEMI co-leads the Coaching at Scale initiative with Dignitas, exploring coaching as a mechanism to strengthen the education workforce. KEMI and Dignitas also co-designed the TSIL (Transforming Schooling into Learning) project.
• KNATCOM (Kenya National Commission for UNESCO)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDignitas partnered with KNATCOM to support the development of a digital training manual for Early Years Educators and Special Needs Educators, along with accompanying tools for remote training and school-based implementation.
• SHOFCO (Shining Hope for Communities)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHOFCO partners with Dignitas for teacher training and coaching in Kibra (Nairobi's informal settlements). Through this partnership, teachers like Tr. Violet (Toi Primary) and Tr. Boniface (Raila Primary) have received Dignitas training to implement inclusive, learner-centered teaching practices.
• RELI (Research for Equitable EdTech)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe RELI EdTech Equity project (EQUIP) is a two-year research study in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Dignitas (Kenya), Shule Direct (Tanzania), and STIR Education (Uganda) lead the project to understand equity considerations in EdTech deployment.
• BrinksupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWanjiku Mbugua, Innovation Manager at Brink, serves on Dignitas' Technical Advisory Board and provides strategic guidance on EdTech innovation and the LeadNow digital platform.
• LEAP Challenge (Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDignitas participated in the LEAP Challenge 2023, collaborating with researchers from Rennie Center, Boston College, Curiós (Brazil), and University of Birmingham to develop evidence-based resources for supporting neurodiverse learners in marginalized communities.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• STIR Education: STIR Education is a nonprofit operating in Uganda and India that networks and trains teachers and school leaders to improve classroom practice. It co-leads the RELI EdTech Equity project with Dignitas, indicating direct overlap in school leadership development methodology and East Africa focus.
• Global School Leaders: Global School Leaders is a core partner that co-developed the Ustadi Leadership Toolkit and the USTADI School Leadership Institute (USLI) with Dignitas. It is comparable as a school leadership-focused international NGO working on instructional leadership in low- and middle-income contexts.
• Educate!: Educate! is a youth-focused education and workforce development nonprofit with strong East Africa presence (Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya). It is comparable to Dignitas in its focus on building leadership and practical skills in marginalized education contexts in the same region.
• Shule Direct: Shule Direct is a Tanzania-based EdTech and teacher support organization and a co-lead of the RELI EQUIP research project alongside Dignitas. It is directly comparable as a neighboring East African education EdTech nonprofit serving low-resourced schools.
• SHOFCO (Shining Hope for Communities): SHOFCO is a Nairobi-based grassroots nonprofit addressing extreme poverty in urban informal settlements through education and other services. It is directly comparable as a Kenya-based education and community development partner operating in the same informal-settlement geographies Dignitas serves.

Broad incumbents

• IDP Foundation: IDP Foundation is a U.S.-based foundation focused on improving access to quality education globally and is a key strategic partner in Dignitas' Ongoza program. As a broader education funder/incumbent operating across multiple geographies, it is comparable to the demand side of Dignitas' market.
• Teach For All: Teach For All is a global network of independent partner organizations recruiting and developing leaders and teachers in underserved schools. It is comparable in mission (developing instructional leadership in low-resource communities) but operates a much broader portfolio of country programs than Dignitas' Kenya/South Sudan focus.
• VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas): VSO is an international development NGO that places volunteers to support education and other sectors in low-income countries. It is comparable to Dignitas as an established international education development organization with a global footprint spanning multiple geographies.
• Population Council: Population Council is an international research NGO whose GIRL Center is connected to Dignitas through its Technical Advisory Board. It is comparable as a broader international development and education research organization engaging with marginalized girls in low-resource contexts.

Regional players

• Book Aid International: Book Aid International is a UK-based charity that increases access to books and supports literacy in sub-Saharan Africa. It is comparable as a long-running education partner of Dignitas (since 2019) and operates in the same school improvement space in sub-Saharan Africa.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dignitasproject
• Facebookfacebook.com/dignitasproject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dignitas-project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Dignitas Project