Kibo School

What Kibo School does

Kibo School was an online higher education institution that operated from 2021 until 2024, delivering an accredited three-year BSc in Computer Science to students in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. The company's core product was a fully online learning platform combining asynchronous lessons with live classes, covering programming, web development, data structures, mathematics, AI, data science, professional communication, and industry experience modules across Year 1 and Year 2 curricula. In parallel, Kibo operated the Try Kibo program — free introductory courses in Python, web development, and data science — which reached 2,500+ learners across 32 African countries and served as a lead generation funnel into the degree program. The institution also ran the Automation Assistants Trainee Program in partnership with the GitLab Foundation, training 100+ students in no-code and low-code tools such as Airtable, Zapier, and Make.

Kibo's business model was B2C tuition for the accredited degree program, supplemented by grant-funded vocational training. The company raised $2 million in seed funding in June 2022, led by Neo with participation from Future Africa and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. After ceasing operations in 2024, the company released its entire curriculum library under a CC0 license, making thousands of hours of course materials publicly available for other educators to reuse and improve. At the time of closure, the firm had 11–50 employees and was headquartered in New York, serving students across the African continent.

Name

Kibo School

Legal name

Kibo School

Website

https://kibo.school

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kibo School was an online higher education institution (2021–2024) that delivered an accredited BSc in Computer Science to students in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana, alongside free introductory tech courses reaching 2,500+ learners across 32 African countries. The company ceased operations in 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tuition for accredited degree programs: Kibo School generated revenue through tuition fees for its accredited three-year BSc in Computer Science degree program offered to students in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Kibo School delivered an accredited three-year online BSc in Computer Science to learners in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, combining computer science theory with practical software development, communication, and collaboration skills. It also provided free introductory computing courses (Python, web development, data science) under its Try Kibo program to learners across 32 African countries, and an Automation Assistants Trainee Program supported by the GitLab Foundation.

Product overview

Kibo School was a higher education institution offering an accredited online BSc in Computer Science alongside free introductory courses through its Try Kibo program and the GitLab Foundation-supported Automation Assistants Trainee Program. The institution operated from 2021 to 2024, delivering a platform-plus-modules architecture consisting of a core accredited degree program with Year 1 and Year 2 curriculum modules covering programming, web development, data science, artificial intelligence, and professional skills. The Try Kibo program provided free introductory courses to over 2,500 students across 32 African countries, while the Automation Assistants program trained students in no-code/low-code tools for business automation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BSc in Computer Science Accredited online three-year Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree program combining computer science theory with practical software development, communication, and collaboration skills; for students in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria seeking an accredited higher education pathway into technology careers.
• Try Kibo Free introductory computing courses in Python, web development, and data science offered across Africa, reaching 2,500+ students in 32 African countries as a funnel into the accredited BSc program.
• Automation Assistants Trainee Program Training program supported by the GitLab Foundation teaching students to become Automation Assistants using no-code and low-code tools such as Airtable, Zapier, and Make; trained 100+ students.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,500+ students educated through Try Kibo program across 32 African countries
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• uLesson: uLesson is a Nigerian edtech platform delivering video-based learning content, primarily to secondary school students. It is comparable to Kibo School as an African edtech using video/on-demand delivery, though it targets a different (K-12 vs. higher-ed) learner segment.

Direct peers

• Andela: Andela began as an African software developer training academy and has evolved into a global tech talent marketplace. It is comparable to Kibo School in training African developers for employment outcomes, though its core business has shifted from education to talent matching.
• AltSchool Africa: AltSchool Africa is an Africa-focused tech education platform offering skill-based training and diploma programs with strong employer pipelines. It directly competes with Kibo School for the same target market of young Africans seeking employable technology skills and credentials.
• Kepler: Kepler is a Rwanda-based higher education program combining online and in-person learning with employer-aligned career pathways. It is comparable to Kibo School in serving East African learners with a blended model focused on employability outcomes.
• Moringa School: Moringa School is an African tech training provider offering in-person and online software development programs with employer hiring partners. It is comparable to Kibo School in target market, practical curriculum focus, and job-placement outcomes.
• African Leadership University (ALU): ALU is a pan-African higher education institution focused on developing African leadership and workforce skills, including technology and business. It competes with Kibo School in serving degree-seeking African students with a mission-driven, employer-aligned curriculum model.
• University of the People: UoPeople is a tuition-free, accredited online university serving global learners including in Africa. It directly parallels Kibo School's model of delivering accredited online degrees at low cost to learners who lack access to traditional higher education.

Broad incumbents

• 2U: 2U partners with universities to deliver online degree programs at scale. It is comparable to Kibo School in the online degree delivery model and platform-mediated instruction, though it serves well-resourced partner universities in mature markets rather than emerging-market learners.
• Coursera: Coursera is a global online learning platform partnering with universities to offer online degrees and courses. It is comparable to Kibo School as a competing channel for accredited online higher education at scale, though it operates globally rather than Africa-specifically.
• edX: edX is a global online university course and degree provider backed by major institutions. It is comparable to Kibo School in offering accredited online degree pathways, though it targets a broader global audience rather than focusing specifically on African learners.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/kiboschool
• Xx.com/Kibo_School
• Facebookfacebook.com/KiboSchool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kiboschool

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kibo School