Lalela

What Lalela does

Lalela is a registered South African non-profit organisation (NPO 090608) that delivers educational arts programmes to at-risk youth aged 6-18 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Founded in 2009/2010 by Andrea Kerzner and headquartered in Hout Bay, Cape Town, the organisation runs after-school and holiday arts workshops that combine creative arts instruction with life-skills development, including flagship offerings such as the Leadership Programme (Grades 10-11), the Female Empowerment Programme (Grade 8), and the SACE-endorsed Trauma Curriculum developed post-Covid-19. Lalela also operates a Virtual Learning Programme introduced during the pandemic and runs the annual Shakespeare Schools Festival for learner performers.

The organisation's core "technology" is its proprietary curriculum library, refined over 15 years and deployed via a network of partner schools, museums (notably Zeitz MOCAA), community centres (Philippi Village, Bertha House, A4 Arts Foundation), and dedicated country partners (Zara Centre in Zimbabwe, Hope North in Uganda). It maintains offices in Hout Bay, Johannesburg (Maboneng), Sea Point, Harare, Northern Uganda, and a fundraising presence in New York. Lalela does not run a software platform; its intellectual property is curriculum-based and content-led.

Lalela's business model is donation- and partnership-driven rather than commercial. Revenue streams include individual and recurring donations (via lalela.org), corporate partnerships (e.g., H&M South Africa's Role Models kidswear collaboration), merchandise sales through the Lalela Scarf sub-brand (lalelascarf.co.za) featuring learner artwork, and art sales at events such as the Investec Cape Town Art Fair. The organisation reports having transformed the lives of over 55,000 children, with the Trauma Curriculum alone reaching 122,000+ learners through 1,100 teachers across 578 schools in four South African provinces. No public financial disclosures, funding rounds, or M&A activity are present in the available data.

Name

Lalela

Legal name

Lalela

Website

https://lalela.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lalela is a South African non-profit that delivers educational arts programmes to at-risk youth aged 6-18 across Sub-Saharan Africa, combining creative arts curricula with life-skills and trauma-informed education through partner schools, museums, and community centres.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development through Educational Arts Programming

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (61161), Educational Support Services (611710)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAGAA

Visual Arts (Drawing, Painting, Illustration)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Personal Enrichment & Hobby Learning (Arts, Crafts, Music, Cooking)

SECONDARYEDAMALAI

Performing Arts Camps (Theater, Musical Theater, Dance)

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Summer & Holiday Enrichment Camps (Multi-Activity, Academic)

Keywords

• Educational arts
• Youth development
• After-school programmes
• Arts education
• Nonprofit services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Lalela operates as a registered Non-Profit Organisation (NPO 090608) funded primarily through donations. Both one-time and recurring donations are accepted through their website.
2. Merchandise Sales (Lalela Scarf): Sales of the Lalela Scarf featuring artwork by Lalela learners. Profits from scarf sales directly support the organisation's educational arts programmes.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with corporations like H&M South Africa where proceeds from collaborative collections flow directly to Lalela's programmes.
4. Art Sales: Exhibition and sale of selected learner artwork at events like Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with proceeds supporting programmes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Lalela provides an award-winning educational arts programme delivering after-school and holiday workshops to at-risk youth aged 6-18 in low-resourced communities across South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. The programme combines arts instruction with life skills, leadership development, female empowerment, and a SACE-endorsed trauma-informed curriculum. Lalela also operates the Lalela Scarf merchandise sub-brand, producing scarves featuring learner artwork with proceeds supporting programme delivery.

Product overview

Lalela operates as a unified non-profit educational arts programme rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is the after-school educational arts programme for at-risk youth aged 6-18 in Sub-Saharan Africa, supplemented by holiday programmes, leadership development, and a female empowerment track. Supporting modules include a trauma-informed curriculum endorsed by SACE and a virtual learning component. Additional programmes include Shakespeare Schools Festival participation and community exhibitions. The Lalela Scarf is a merchandise sub-brand where learner artwork is featured on products to generate fundraising revenue.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• After-School Educational Arts Programme Lalela's flagship after-school programme providing creative arts education to at-risk children aged 6-18 in low-resourced communities, offering safe spaces during vulnerable afternoon hours when children are most at risk of abuse.
• Holiday Programme Structured arts workshops conducted during South African school holidays (March/April, June/July, December), accommodating large groups of children with volunteer support across Lalela's partner venues.
• Leadership Programme Development programme for high school students in Grades 10-11 focusing on mentorship, role model development, and practical leadership skills through workshop facilitation and community engagement.
• Female Empowerment Programme Workshop series for Grade 8 girls focusing on gender equality, confidence building, and life skills development, delivered across multiple Cape Town locations by Lalela facilitators.
• Trauma Curriculum Post-Covid-19 resource guide providing creative arts-based activities to help educators recognise and assist learners affected by trauma; received full endorsement from SACE and rolled out across 578 schools in four South African provinces.
• Lalela Scarf Merchandise line featuring artwork by Lalela learners printed on scarves, sold via the Lalela Scarf online shop and Cape Town showroom, with all proceeds directly supporting Lalela's educational arts programmes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 55,000+ children transformed through arts education
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

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

• H&M South AfricamajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 24 September 2024Partnership for Role Models kidswear collection featuring designs by Lalela learners. All proceeds flow directly to Lalela's after-school educational art programmes. Collection launched September 2024 at H&M Centurion and Canal Walk.
• Zeitz MOCAAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding partnership with the museum housing Lalela's classroom in association with the museum's Education Centre. During school term, learners are transported from surrounding schools to participate in workshops. During holidays, workshops are held tied to museum exhibitions.
• Zara Centre (Zimbabwe)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for operating Lalela programmes in Zimbabwe through Zara Centre.
• Hope North (Uganda)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for operating Lalela programmes in Uganda through Hope North.
• Denis Goldberg House of HopeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on mural project where Lalela learners created artwork for the gallery, an arts-and-culture education centre memorializing anti-apartheid icon Denis Goldberg.
• Dala Art MaterialscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWell-known South African art materials company that generously supports Lalela with donations of art materials that make art programmes possible. 'Dala' means 'create' in isiXhosa and is also South African slang for 'making a plan'.
• Honest ChocolateminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUnique collaboration featuring artwork from Lalela learners on limited-edition chocolate wrappers. All proceeds support Lalela's educational arts programmes.
• Stanford UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternship programme hosting Stanford students for hands-on experience in Lalela classrooms and projects.
• Western Cape Education Department (WCED)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for rolling out Trauma Curriculum training across Western Cape schools. WCED social workers also identified individual schools for focused workshops with entire school staff.
• Mpumalanga Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Trauma Curriculum training rollout in Mpumalanga province.
• Gauteng Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Trauma Curriculum training rollout in Gauteng province.
• NAPTOSA KwaZulu-NatalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeacher union partnership for Trauma Curriculum training in KwaZulu-Natal.
• Bertha HouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue for Lalela's Leadership Programme holiday activities and location for annual September Sessions team retreat.
• Philippi VillageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner venue for Lalela's after-school programme launch in September 2020. Hosts holiday programmes and community exhibitions.
• A4 Arts FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue for Lalela's Leadership Programme where young leaders spend time learning about leadership qualities.
• Bertha RetreatminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScenic retreat venue hosting Lalela's annual Leadership Camp and September Sessions team retreat.
• Silikamva High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner high school in Imizamo Yethu, Hout Bay. Source of Leadership Programme participants from Grade 10-11.
• Hout Bay High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner high school in Hangberg, Hout Bay. Source of Leadership Programme participants from Grade 10-11.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Young Audiences Arts for Learning: Largest arts-in-education nonprofit network in the United States, delivering arts programming to K-12 students in low-income communities; operates at significantly greater scale but with the same mission-aligned arts-education-for-youth structure as Lalela.
• P.S. Arts: US-based nonprofit providing arts education to underserved public-school children through in-school and after-school programs, the closest direct international analogue to Lalela's arts-education-for-at-risk-youth model.
• Dream a Dream: India-based nonprofit that empowers young people from vulnerable backgrounds through life-skills programs blending arts, sports, and mentoring; highly comparable model to Lalela's arts-plus-life-skills curriculum for at-risk youth.
• Ikamva Youth: South African education nonprofit providing after-school tutoring, mentoring, and life-skills support to disadvantaged high-school learners; directly comparable on geography, beneficiary profile, and after-school delivery mechanism.
• ASSITEJ South Africa: South African centre of the international ASSITEJ network promoting performing arts for children and young audiences; directly comparable to Lalela's performing arts element (Shakespeare Schools Festival) and youth-arts mandate within the same geography.
• Nal'ibali: South African literacy and reading-for-pleasure nonprofit working through partner schools and communities to build children's literacy; highly comparable South African nonprofit operating via school-and-community partnerships serving at-risk children.

Emerging players

• African Leadership Academy: Pan-African leadership and entrepreneurship education institution developing African youth leaders, including a leadership curriculum component; comparable to Lalela's Leadership Programme focus on Grades 10-11 youth leadership development.

Regional players

• Education Africa: South African nonprofit focused on education access, scholarships, and skills development for marginalized youth; comparable geography and beneficiary base to Lalela but focuses more on academic scholarships rather than arts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/lalelaproject
• Facebookfacebook.com/lalelaproject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lalela-project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Lalela