The Kilgoris Project

What The Kilgoris Project does

The Kilgoris Project (TKP) is a US-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Los Altos, California, that operates a whole-child education program in the Transmara region of Narok County, Kenya. The organization delivers pre-primary, primary, and junior secondary education to 2,405 students across 17 schools in 6 distinct communities, with a stated 100% graduation rate through secondary school and a 35:1 student-to-teacher ratio that is half the Narok County average. The program model integrates eight pillars: Daycare & Pre-Primary, Primary Education, Junior Secondary, Gender Equity, Healthcare & WASH, Sustainable Farming, Extracurricular Enrichment, and Nutrition, all structured around the dimensions of mind, body, agency, and community. Approximately 9,000 parents participate in school governance, with community boards in each school composed of parents, elders, and Maasai leaders who shape curriculum and operations.

TKP operates a dual-board governance structure: a USA Board of Directors (including Co-Founders Jon McCormack and Caren McNelly McCormack) and a Kenya Board of Directors led by Executive Director David Lemiso. The organization is entirely donor-funded and does not generate product or service revenue. Funding flows in through direct website donations, individual fundraisers, organizational partnerships, and foundation grants. Distribution of programs is delivered through the 17 community-embedded schools and through affiliated community structures such as school boards. No proprietary technology platform, software product, or AI/ML system is disclosed; the core technology is the integrated "whole-child" educational methodology itself. Listed partners include the Flora Family Foundation, Segal Family Foundation, Van Elderen, Girl Rising, Samaritans International, and Church Partners, reflecting a diversified institutional and faith-based funding base.

Name

The Kilgoris Project

Legal name

The Kilgoris Project

Website

https://kilgoris.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Kilgoris Project is a US-registered nonprofit operating pre-primary through junior secondary schools in rural Kenya, serving 2,405 students across 17 schools in 6 communities under a whole-child education model funded by donations and foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Primary Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Literacy & ELA Instruction (School-Delivered) (EDAJAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Literacy & Numeracy Intervention (Reading/Math Support) (EDAJALAD)

Keywords

• Rural education programs
• Whole-child education
• Nonprofit education services
• Primary school education
• Community-based education

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Altos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Kilgoris Project is a nonprofit organization that operates pre-primary, primary, and junior secondary education programs across 17 schools in 6 communities of the Transmara region, Narok County, Kenya. It uses a whole-child approach that integrates literacy and numeracy instruction with healthcare, nutrition, gender equity, technology proficiency, and extracurricular enrichment. Education services are delivered free to children from age three, funded primarily through donations and grants.

Product overview

The Kilgoris Project is a nonprofit organization operating a single, integrated education program focused on whole-child development in rural Kenya. Their offering consists of a unified education service spanning Daycare & Pre-Primary Education, Primary Education, and Junior Secondary Education across 17 schools, complemented by eight supporting program pillars: Gender Equity, Healthcare & WASH, Sustainable Farming, Extracurricular Enrichment, and Nutrition. The organization also engages parents, elders, and community leaders through school boards to ensure cultural alignment with Maasai identity while building educational outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pre-Primary Education Daycare and pre-primary education starting from age three, providing strong literacy, numeracy, and interdisciplinary skills for children in rural Kenya.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% graduation rate - a student who enters TKP will graduate the program as well as secondary school
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Van ElderencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVan Elderen appears as a partner organization supporting The Kilgoris Project's mission of education and community development in Kenya.
• Flora Family FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlora Family Foundation supports The Kilgoris Project's educational programs and community development initiatives in rural Kenya.
• Segal Family FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSegal Family Foundation partners with The Kilgoris Project to advance education and development programs in Kenya.
• Samaritans InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSamaritans International supports The Kilgoris Project's mission to provide education and community development in Kenya.
• Girl RisingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGirl Rising partners with The Kilgoris Project, focusing on gender equity and educational opportunities for girls in Kenya.
• Church PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChurch Partners collaborates with The Kilgoris Project to support community-driven education and development programs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• BRAC: One of the world's largest NGOs running schools and education programs across multiple developing countries. Comparable in operating K-12 schools in low-income rural settings, but at vastly greater scale and broader programmatic scope than TKP.
• WE Charity (Free The Children): International nonprofit that built and operated schools in developing regions including Kenya and East Africa. Comparable in operating K-12 schools in rural African communities with a holistic development model, though at broader geographic scale.

Direct peers

• Room to Read: Global nonprofit operating literacy and girls' education programs in low-income countries including across Sub-Saharan Africa. Closely comparable to TKP in running school-delivered education with a literacy foundation, donor-funded model, and focus on underserved communities.
• buildOn: Nonprofit constructing and supporting primary schools in low-income communities across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Comparable in mission, school-delivery model, and donor-funded operations serving rural undereducated populations.
• Camfed: Nonprofit supporting girls' education across Sub-Saharan Africa, including school-level programming and community engagement. Comparable to TKP in Africa-focused rural education delivery with gender-equity emphasis and community-governance models.
• Pencils of Promise: Nonprofit that builds and operates primary schools in developing countries, including in Africa. Directly comparable to TKP in delivering school-based primary education to underserved rural communities with donor funding.
• Ubuntu Education Fund: Nonprofit operating cradle-to-career education and health services in underserved African communities. Comparable to TKP's whole-child approach integrating education with health, nutrition, and community engagement in a single African geography.

Emerging players

• Educate!: Nonprofit delivering secondary-school programs focused on workforce readiness and leadership in Uganda and East Africa. Comparable in donor-funded secondary-education delivery targeting African youth, with narrower program scope than TKP's whole-child model.
• African Library Project: Nonprofit establishing school and community libraries across Sub-Saharan Africa. Partially comparable to TKP's literacy-numeracy emphasis but operates through library infrastructure rather than full school delivery.

Regional players

• SchoolBOX: Nonprofit building and supporting schools in rural Latin America. Comparable in school-construction-and-operate mission for underserved rural children, but operates in Central/South America rather than Africa.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kilgorisproject
• Facebookfacebook.com/kilgoris

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 The Kilgoris Project