Mbadika

Name

Mbadika

Legal name

Mbadika

Website

https://mbadika.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mbadika is a 501(c)(3) non-profit STEM education organization founded in 2010 at MIT, operating the MLAB laboratory in Cambridge, MA to deliver hands-on STEM workshops, an Emmy-nominated TV show, and DIY educational kits to youth, families, and educators in Greater Boston.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Access & EdTech for Equity (Low-cost Learning, Skills Platforms) (BPAGALAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Advanced Project-Based Learning & Portfolio Mentoring (STEM/arts portfolios, maker projects) (EDANAKAI)

Keywords

• STEM education
• Hands-on workshops
• DIY educational kits
• Nonprofit education
• Digital fabrication

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Mbadika relies on donations and grants from partners and supporters. The website includes a PayPal donation link (paypal.me/mbadika).
2. Workshop Fees: Various workshops and programs are offered, some free (like MLAB Island Adventures funded by grants) and some likely with registration fees.
3. DIY Product Sales: The M°Lab Field Kit 2.0 is sold through Ministry of Supply's website. Mbadika collaborates on product design and receives proceeds from these sales.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Mbadika is a 501(c)(3) non-profit STEM education organization that operates the MLAB (Mbadika Laboratory) initiative, delivering hands-on STEM workshops, an Emmy-nominated educational TV show, and DIY educational kits such as the M°Lab Field Kit 2.0 to learners of all ages in the Greater Boston area. The organization focuses on providing space, resources, and programming that enable underrepresented youth and community members to transform ideas into reality through digital fabrication, 3D printing, CAD, and materials science.

Product overview

Mbadika is a 501(c)(3) non-profit STEM organization born out of MIT, focused on Ideas and Those Who Create Them. The organization operates through its MLAB (Mbadika Laboratory) initiative, which serves as the central hub for designing and developing hands-on STEM educational resources. MLAB encompasses three main offerings: MLAB Workshops (hands-on educational programs including Community Lab, Build.Make.Learn. Together, and seasonal events), the MLAB TV Show (an Emmy-nominated educational television series), and MLAB Products (including the M°Lab Field Kit 2.0 physical DIY kit and M°Lab Field Notebook 2.0 digital workbook). Together, these offerings provide learners of all ages with opportunities to explore STEM through engaging, pop-culture-themed projects using CAD, 3D printing, electronics, and textile arts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MLAB: Mbadika Laboratory - the experimental laboratory initiative where development and implementation of hands-on STEM workshops, DIY projects, and educational products takes place.
• M°Lab Field Kit
• MLAB TV Show
• MLAB Saturday
• MLAB Community Lab
• MLAB Field Notes

Products and services

• MLAB Workshops Hands-on STEM workshops for learners of all ages including MLAB Community Lab, Build.Make.Learn. Together, MLAB In The Park, Introduction to Sewing, Introduction to Electronics, and seasonal festival events held at the MLAB Laboratory in Cambridge, MA.
• MLAB TV Show An Emmy-nominated educational television series that demystifies the process of bringing ideas to reality through STEAM, featuring themed episodes with hands-on projects using CAD, 3D printing, and electronics, broadcast on Boston Neighborhood Network Channel 9.
• M°Lab Field Kit 2.0 A DIY kit for ages 8+ that teaches fabric science and materials science through hands-on experiments, created in collaboration with Ministry of Supply. Learners take on the role of M°Lab Secret Agents exploring the science of fashion through fabric swatches, tools, and a field notebook.
• M°Lab Field Notebook 2.0 A step-by-step digital workbook accompanying the M°Lab Field Kit 2.0 that walks learners through fabric science experiments including fibers, phase change materials, odor controlling yarn, knit vs. woven fabrics, fabric construction, and the science of dyeing.
• MLAB Saturday A pop-in vendor opportunity program for artisan businesses and creatives in Greater Boston to showcase their creative skills with the general public through hands-on STEM workshops at MLAB in Cambridge's Central Square.

Quantifiable outcome

• 43rd Annual New England Emmy nomination for educational television

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Ministry of SupplycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on M°Lab Field Kit 2.0 - a DIY educational kit focused on materials science. The kit was designed by Mbadika interns and enables learners to explore fabric technology through hands-on experiments. Ministry of Supply is an innovative clothing retailer and fellow MIT project using science to engineer comfortable clothing.
• AutodeskcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on educational content including the MLAB TV Show episodes and the Level Up Helmet Project series. Autodesk provides Tinkercad and Fusion 360 software expertise for CAD tutorials featured in workshops and video content.
• NASA Goddard Space Flight CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on MLAB Episode 11: Inter-Stellar TESSERAE Planter, inspired by the MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative's self-assembling space architecture project. NASA spinoff technology (PCMs) is featured in M°Lab Field Kit educational content.
• MITcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMbadika was founded while Executive Director Netia McCray was an undergraduate at MIT. The organization maintains close ties with MIT as a birthplace institution and shares the MIT ecosystem with partner Ministry of Supply.
• Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBroadcast partner for the MLAB TV Show. BNN Channel 9 airs the Emmy-nominated educational series featuring hands-on STEM projects to the Greater Boston community.
• Timothy Smith Network (TSN)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in TV show production and Fab Lab collaboration. TSN is the world's first fabrication laboratory (Fab Lab) at Boston's South End Technology Center (SETC), founded by Mel King.
• Boston Design Academy (BDA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTEM initiative in collaboration with City of Boston, Timothy Smith Network, and Boston Public Library to expose Boston Public School High School participants to career pathways in design through STEM.
• U.S. State DepartmentmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner supporting Mbadika's STEM education mission. Organization has historical programming reach in North America, South America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
• MicrosoftminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization supporting Mbadika's STEM education initiatives alongside NASA, MIT, and Autodesk.
• City of Cambridge - Cambridge PlaysmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for MLAB In The Park community events exploring how ideas are brought to reality through STEM activities in Cambridge parks.
• Boston Harbor IslandsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for MLAB Island Adventure events - fun-filled adventures exploring natural beauty of Boston's Harbor Islands while learning how STEM impacts the world. Supported by Innovation Islands Grant program.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Science Club for Girls: Cambridge, MA-based nonprofit providing free STEM programming for girls and gender-expansive youth from underrepresented communities. Operates with similar hands-on workshops, community partnerships, and a Greater Boston focus, directly comparable in mission and operating model to Mbadika.
• The Clubhouse Network: MIT Media Lab-affiliated global network of community-based Clubhouses providing free STEM and maker education to youth from underserved communities. Shares Mbadika's hands-on maker/maker-space model, youth-from-underrepresented-backgrounds mission, and partnership with MIT ecosystem institutions.
• Citizen Schools: National nonprofit delivering extended learning and STEM programming to middle-school students from under-resourced communities. Comparable in mission (STEM access for underserved youth), supplemental education model, and reliance on corporate and institutional partnerships for content and funding.
• Iridescent: Nonprofit providing STEM education and engineering programs for underserved youth and families through community-based programming. Closely matches Mbadika's hands-on, family-inclusive, equity-focused STEM delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology): Large established nonprofit running K-12 robotics competitions and STEM programs globally with significant corporate sponsorship. Operates broadly in the same STEM-for-youth space but at much greater scale and through a competition/team-based model rather than Mbadika's lab/workshop approach.
• Code.org: Major nonprofit expanding access to computer science education in K-12 schools nationwide. Overlaps with Mbadika on the STEM-access-for-underrepresented-youth mission but focuses on computer science curriculum adoption at scale rather than hands-on fabrication workshops.
• Maker Media (Make: Community): Established multi-channel maker-education brand (Make: Magazine, Maker Faire) that has built a community around hands-on making and digital fabrication. Targets overlapping audiences and themes as Mbadika but at significantly broader scale and as a media/community brand rather than a youth-focused nonprofit.

Regional players

• STEM NOLA: New Orleans-based nonprofit delivering hands-on STEM programming and camps for underserved youth. Comparable operating model (community STEM events, partnership-driven, equity-focused) but concentrated in the Gulf South rather than Greater Boston.
• Museum of Science, Boston: Major Boston-area science museum and education provider with extensive public programming, maker spaces, and school partnerships. Serves overlapping Greater Boston audiences with hands-on STEM experiences but at much larger institutional scale and via museum-based delivery.

Others

• Ministry of Supply: MIT-born apparel company and Mbadika's distribution partner for the M°Lab Field Kit 2.0. Included as an ecosystem participant: it provides commercial product distribution for Mbadika's kit and shares the MIT-founding heritage, but is a for-profit retailer rather than a STEM-education peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Mbadika
• Facebookfacebook.com/MbadikaWorld
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mbadika

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Mbadika