Flying Kites
Flying Kites is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2007 that partners with 29 public primary schools in rural Kenya to deliver integrated girls' education, teacher training, WASH, school meals, and gender-based violence prevention programs, reaching 15,866 students and 624 teachers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Flying Kites does
Flying Kites, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2007 by Leila de Bruyne, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with operations centered in Njabini, Kenya. The organization partners with teachers and public primary schools to deliver an integrated set of programs addressing girls' education and the systemic barriers (gender-based violence, menstrual health, hunger, inadequate WASH infrastructure, teacher capacity gaps) that cause roughly half of girls in Kenya to not finish school. Its core offering is the Flying Kites School Network, currently comprising 29 public primary schools in South Kinangop and reaching 15,866 students and 624 teachers, with the Flying Kites Academy and Teacher Training Center in Njabini serving as the pilot-and-scale hub.
The organization's program portfolio spans six interconnected pillars: Girls Education & Leadership (including the L'Oréal-funded Girls United Digital animated video curriculum on menstrual health), School Meals/Clean Water & Sanitation (boreholes, piped water, eco-friendly kitchens serving 914,580 meals in 2024), Trained & Equipped Teachers (Technology Resource Center, Tech Loaner Library, Digital Resource Library aligned to Kenya's competency-based curriculum), Safe & Inclusive Classrooms (built on USAID's Doorways framework), and Gender-Based Violence Prevention. The underlying technology stack is conventional edtech: a digital resource library, internet-equipped training facilities, and downloadable animated video content rather than AI-driven systems. Programs are designed, piloted at the Academy, and then scaled across the Network.
Flying Kites is funded almost entirely through philanthropy, generating $3,039,438 in FY2025 revenue (Individuals: $1,438,105; Foundations: $1,259,574; In-Kind: $19,856) from individual donors (including a monthly 'Join Roots' program), family and corporate foundations (L'Oréal Fund For Women, I-Foundation, Addax and Oryx Foundation, Victoria's Secret & Co., Farvue Foundation, Meldrum Foundation, Together Women Rise, and others), and legacy/stock contributions. The organization holds a Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency, a Charity Navigator Four-Star rating, and was featured in UNESCO's 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report. In 2024, co-founder Leila de Bruyne transitioned out of the Executive Director role after 17 years and was succeeded by Rosa Muraya, who is leading a formal 5-Year Strategic Expansion Plan.
Flying Kites firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Flying Kites
- Legal name
- Flying Kites, Inc.
- Website
- https://flyingkites.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Flying Kites is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2007 that partners with 29 public primary schools in rural Kenya to deliver integrated girls' education, teacher training, WASH, school meals, and gender-based violence prevention programs, reaching 15,866 students and 624 teachers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Flying Kites industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Non-profit Girls' Education Services
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Instructional Coaching & Teacher Professional Learning (School-Embedded) (EDAJAFAO)
Keywords
Where Flying Kites is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Flying Kites business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute to Flying Kites through the Join Roots monthly giving program, one-time donations via check or stock, and legacy giving. In 2025, individual donations totaled $1,438,105.
- Foundation Grants: Flying Kites receives grants from foundations including I-Foundation, L'Oréal Fund For Women, Addax and Oryx Foundation, Farvue Foundation, Meldrum Foundation, DHR Ross Foundation, W. Family Foundation, and others. In 2025, foundation contributions totaled $1,259,574.
- In-Kind Contributions: The organization receives in-kind donations and contributions. In 2025, in-kind contributions totaled $19,856.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Flying Kites product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Flying Kites partners with public primary schools in rural South Kinangop, Kenya, through a network of 29 schools to deliver integrated educational programs for adolescent girls (ages 10-14), teachers, and communities. Its core offering comprises five program pillars: Girls Education & Leadership (with the Girls United Digital curriculum), School Meals/Clean Water & Sanitation, Trained & Equipped Teachers (Teacher Training Center), Safe & Inclusive Classrooms, and Gender-Based Violence Prevention. The Flying Kites Academy and Teacher Training Center in Njabini serve as innovation hubs where programs are piloted before scaling across the School Network.
Product overview
Flying Kites operates as an integrated programs organization rather than a single product company. Its core offering is the Flying Kites School Network—a coalition of 29 public primary schools in rural Kenya—supplemented by the Flying Kites Academy as an innovation pilot site. The organization delivers five interconnected program pillars: Girls Education & Leadership (with its Girls United Digital sub-product), School Meals/Clean Water & Sanitation, Trained & Equipped Teachers (supported by the Teacher Training Center, Technology Resource Center, Tech Loaner Library, and Digital Resource Library), Safe & Inclusive Classrooms, and Gender-Based Violence Prevention. Together these programs form a holistic approach to removing barriers to education for girls.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Girls United Digital: Digitized curriculum with animated video series centered on Kenyan girls sharing health information, including menstrual health management content, supported by The L'Oréal Fund For Women.
Products and services
- The Flying Kites School Network A network of 29 public primary schools in rural South Kinangop, Kenya, partnering with the Kenya Ministry of Education to deliver integrative programs addressing girls' education, health, and gender equity.
- Girls Education & Leadership Teacher-led clubs providing adolescent girls (ages 10-14) in rural Kenya with sexual and reproductive health education, leadership development, mentorship, and safe spaces for making informed choices about their bodies, education, and futures.
- School Meals, Clean Water & Sanitation Infrastructure and programs providing daily school meals, eco-friendly kitchens, WASH facilities, boreholes, and piped water systems to address hunger and health barriers to learning at Network schools.
- Trained & Equipped Teachers Teacher Training Center program providing digital literacy workshops, a Technology Resource Center, Tech Loaner Library, and Digital Resource Library to build teachers' capacity for technology-enhanced, gender-equitable instruction.
- Safe & Inclusive Classrooms Gender equity training program using USAID's Doorways Training Program to help teachers and Child Protection Volunteers create gender-equitable learning environments and engage boys in conversations about gender equity.
- Gender-Based Violence Prevention Training program for teachers and Child Protection Volunteers to prevent, respond to, and report gender-based violence, including Child Protection Policies, zero tolerance policies, and referral pathways.
- Flying Kites Academy A primary school located in Njabini, Kenya, serving as a community-centered hub for innovation and capacity building, where programs are piloted before scaling to the School Network.
Quantifiable outcome
- 65% of teachers achieved proficiency in technology skills after training (vs 0% at baseline)
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Flying Kites
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Flying Kites technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Flying Kites partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.
- Tailored for EducationmajorTailored for Education is a featured partner working with Flying Kites to support education programs for girls in Kenya.
- Obama Foundation's Girls Opportunity AlliancecoreThe Obama Foundation's Girls Opportunity Alliance recognizes Co-Founder Leila de Bruyne and supports Flying Kites' work to help girls live healthy, self-determined lives through education.
- UNESCOcoreUNESCO featured Flying Kites' Teacher Training Center in the 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report as an example of how technology can help educators transform their classrooms. Flying Kites was highlighted alongside Monica Kinyua, a teacher from Nyakio Primary.
- USAIDcoreUSAID's Doorways Training Program provides the framework for Flying Kites' Safe & Inclusive Classrooms work. The Doorways Student Training Manual is used to train teachers and Child Protection Volunteers on gender equity concepts.
- Kenya Ministry of EducationcoreFlying Kites partners with Kenya's Ministry of Education through the Flying Kites School Network to transform public primary schools and deliver programs that help girls live healthy, self-determined lives.
- Department of Children's Services (Kenya)coreFlying Kites trains primary school teachers in partnership with the Department of Children's Services to ensure they are equipped to prevent, respond to, and report instances of gender-based violence.
- Teachers Service Commission (Kenya)coreFlying Kites trains primary school teachers in partnership with the Teachers Service Commission to build capacity for gender-equitable classrooms and enhanced student learning.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Flying Kites competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Malala Fund: Global girls' education advocacy and grant-making organization funding local partners in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. Comparable thematic focus on secondary-school completion for girls, advocacy-driven funding model, and high public-profile leadership.
- Room to Read: Global non-profit operating literacy and girls' education programs in low-income countries with a strong teacher-training and school-embedded model. Comparable on school-network delivery, teacher professional learning emphasis, and global-funder footprint.
- Educate Girls: Non-profit focused on enrolling and retaining out-of-school girls in rural India through community mobilization and school-based interventions. Closely comparable methodology: working through government schools, targeting rural adolescent girls, training volunteers and teachers, with measured learning and retention outcomes.
- CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education): Multi-country non-profit supporting girls' secondary education across Sub-Saharan Africa with measurable transition-to-work outcomes. Directly comparable model: targets rural sub-Saharan Africa, focuses on adolescent girls, public-school partnership orientation, and outcome-driven donor narrative.
- Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO): Kenya-rooted non-profit delivering integrated education, health, and WASH programs to urban informal settlements. Most direct geographic peer — overlapping Kenyan operating context, school and WASH infrastructure, and multi-pillar programs serving low-income girls.
- Free The Children (WE Charity): Canada-based international development and education non-profit with school-adoption and girls' education programming across Kenya and other low-income countries. Comparable school-based delivery model in Kenya, adolescent-girl focus, and integrated WASH/meals programming.
Broad incumbents
- Plan International USA: Large global NGO with broad girls' rights, education, and child-protection programming across 80+ countries. Overlaps with Flying Kites on gender-based violence prevention, girls' leadership, and inclusive classrooms, but operates across many verticals and geographies rather than a focused rural-Kenya niche.
- UNICEF USA: The US fundraising arm of the UN children's agency, funding education, WASH, child protection, and gender-equity programs globally. Overlaps Flying Kites' pillars (girls' education, school WASH, GBV prevention, teacher capacity) but at multinational scale and breadth rather than direct delivery.
Emerging players
- WaterAid America: International non-profit focused exclusively on clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in low-income countries — overlapping the WASH/infrastructure pillar (0%→88% WASH-standard schools) that Flying Kites operates within school settings.
- African Schools Foundation: Smaller US-registered non-profit funding primary-school infrastructure and operations in East Africa. Comparable on primary-school focus in East Africa and donor-funded operating model, though smaller in scale and less focused on the gender-equity overlay.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Flying Kites social profiles
Digital presenceFlying Kites financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Flying Kites leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles17 records
Flying Kites funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Flying Kites M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Flying Kites
What does Flying Kites do?
Flying Kites partners with public primary schools in rural South Kinangop, Kenya, through a network of 29 schools to deliver integrated educational programs for adolescent girls (ages 10-14), teachers, and communities. Its core offering comprises five program pillars: Girls Education & Leadership (with the Girls United Digital curriculum), School Meals/Clean Water & Sanitation, Trained & Equipped Teachers (Teacher Training Center), Safe & Inclusive Classrooms, and Gender-Based Violence Prevention. The Flying Kites Academy and Teacher Training Center in Njabini serve as innovation hubs where programs are piloted before scaling across the School Network.
Is Flying Kites a public or private company?
Flying Kites is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Flying Kites founded?
Flying Kites was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Flying Kites based?
Flying Kites is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Flying Kites make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are foundation Grants and in-Kind Contributions.
Who are Flying Kites's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Malala Fund, Room to Read, Educate Girls, CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education), Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) and Free The Children (WE Charity). Broad incumbents are Plan International USA and UNICEF USA. Emerging players are WaterAid America and African Schools Foundation.
Does Flying Kites have an API?
No public API is recorded for Flying Kites.
What industry is Flying Kites in?
Flying Kites's product category is Non-profit Girls' Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAFAO, Instructional Coaching & Teacher Professional Learning (School-Embedded). Its NAICS code is 6111 and its SIC code is 8200.