Ace Africa

What Ace Africa does

Ace Africa is a UK-registered charitable organization (England & Wales charity no.1111283; company limited by guarantee no.04726183) founded in 2003 that delivers community development programmes in rural Kenya and Tanzania through four primary programme areas: Child Development (205 Ace Child-to-Child Clubs in schools, educational support, child rights protection committees), Community Health & Wellbeing (HIV/AIDS testing, counselling and stigma reduction, reproductive health, dental hygiene, nutrition, water and sanitation), Community Livelihoods (Farmer Field Schools, livestock programmes, VICOBA micro-finance), and the Future Stars League (football-based youth development). Supplementary offerings include the Ace Next Gen youth philanthropy programme, an online donation shop, and a publications library of research, evaluation, and training manuals. Cumulative beneficiaries since inception stand at 1,579,319.

The organization's technology stack is minimal and operational rather than productized. Programme monitoring and evaluation runs on KoboToolbox — an open-source platform built on Open Data Kit — deployed in Ace Africa Tanzania for tablet/phone-based mobile surveys, replacing paper-based data collection for real-time trend analysis, GPS capture, and resource allocation. Programmes are delivered through field-based staff, a network of 7,000 trained community volunteers in Kenya alone, government health facility partnerships (with the Ministries of Health in both Kenya and Tanzania and the Kenya Ministry of Education), and rural drop-in centres for child protection. Local language drama performances serve as both programme delivery and community engagement mechanisms.

Ace Africa is funded through a diversified mix of individual donations (fixed £25/£50/£100 tiers and a "Friends of Ace" recurring programme), charitable trust and foundation grants (Comic Relief, The SOL Foundation, Charles Hayward Foundation, Evan Cornish Foundation, Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust, Mac Bevan Charitable Trust, Stars Foundation, Egmont Trust, Colourful Life Foundation), corporate partnerships (Vitol, TK Maxx, Arisaig, Heifer International), and UK school fundraising relationships. The operating structure is a network of four regional entities — Ace Africa UK (London headquarters), Ace Africa USA, Ace Africa Tanzania (Arusha), and Ace Africa Kenya (Nairobi with operational sites in Bungoma and Siaya counties) — governed by separate regional boards.

Name

Ace Africa

Legal name

Ace Africa

Website

https://ace-africa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Ace Africa is a UK-registered charity delivering child development, community health, and livelihoods programmes in rural Kenya and Tanzania through 7,000 community volunteers, 205 schools, and government health facility partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development and Humanitarian Aid

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Access & Quality (International Development) (BPAGABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG), Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA), International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB), NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery (EDADALAC), International & Global Public Health Aid Administration (Government Donors) (HLAJALAO)

Keywords

• Community development programmes
• Child protection services
• Community health interventions
• Livelihoods training
• Nonprofit charity services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Ace Africa receives donations from individual supporters through online donation pages, fundraising events, and regular giving programs (Friends of Ace).
2. Trust and Foundation Grants: Funding from charitable trusts and foundations including Comic Relief, The SOL Foundation, Charles Hayward Foundation, Evan Cornish Foundation, Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust, and others.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Support from corporate entities including Vitol, TK Maxx, Arisaig, and others who fund specific projects or provide matching donations.
4. School Partnerships: UK schools partner with Ace Africa through fundraising and awareness raising, with some establishing pen pal relationships with schools in Kenya and Tanzania.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ace Africa is a UK-registered nonprofit that delivers community-led development programmes in rural Kenya and Tanzania, organized around Child Development (school support and child protection), Community Health & Wellbeing (HIV/AIDS services, reproductive health, nutrition, water/sanitation), Community Livelihoods (agricultural training, livestock, and village banking micro-finance), and the Future Stars League (football-based youth development). Programs are delivered through 7,000 community volunteers, partner schools, and government health facilities, funded by individual donations, charitable trusts and foundations, and corporate partners.

Product overview

Ace Africa is a non-governmental organization operating in Kenya and Tanzania with regional offices (Ace Africa USA, Ace Africa UK, Ace Africa Tanzania, Ace Africa Kenya). The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected community development programmes organized around four core areas: Child Development (Ace Child-to-Child Clubs, school support, child rights protection), Community Health & Wellbeing (HIV/AIDS services, reproductive health, dental hygiene, nutrition), Community Livelihoods (agricultural training, VICOBA micro-finance, entrepreneurship), and the Future Stars League (football-based youth development). Supplementary offerings include the Ace Next Gen youth engagement programme, an online e-commerce shop, and knowledge products including research publications and training manuals. The organization's integrated approach combines education, healthcare access, economic empowerment, and community capacity-building to enable children and communities to take responsibility for their own development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Child Development Programme Comprehensive child development initiatives including Ace Child-to-Child Clubs in 205 schools, educational support, school uniform and sanitary pad provision, counselling services, and child rights protection through community-based Child Rights Committees, targeted at orphans and vulnerable children in rural Kenya and Tanzania.
• Community Health & Wellbeing Programme Health interventions covering HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, testing and treatment services, reproductive health education, dental hygiene services, nutrition programmes, and water/sanitation initiatives including rainwater harvesting systems, delivered to rural communities in Kenya and Tanzania.
• Community Livelihoods Programme Economic empowerment through agricultural training, farmer field schools, livestock programmes (fish farming, dairy goats, poultry), entrepreneurship skills, Village Community Banking (VICOBA) micro-finance schemes, and business development training for smallholder farmers, women, and youth in rural Kenya and Tanzania.
• Future Stars League Football-based youth development programme using sport to improve school attendance, academic performance, and child rights awareness, including teacher coaching training, inter-school leagues, tournaments, and Ace School Clubs for child protection education across Kenya and Tanzania.
• Ace Next Gen Youth philanthropy programme designed to engage and develop future philanthropists among young supporters, including a University of Liverpool Ace Africa Society with weekly meetings.
• Ace Africa Online Shop Online shop powered by WooCommerce for purchasing merchandise and supporting the organization's charitable work through direct product sales.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% of youth participants moved above poverty line with average monthly household income increasing from £40 to £161
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Haller FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership since 2017 to reduce poverty and malnutrition through sustainable farming methods and fish farming in Western and Southern Kenya.
• Heifer InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHelped establish dairy goat herds for community groups like Yombra Progressive Self-Help Group.
• KARI (Kenya Agricultural Research Institute)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrained community groups in banana cultivation and provided banana seedlings.
• Andre Villas-BoasminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAce Africa Patron who has supported the football project and helped raise awareness.
• Ministry of Health (Tanzania)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAce Africa became the first non-profit to work with Ministry of Health to improve dental health services in rural facilities around Arusha.
• Ministry of Education (Kenya)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on rainwater harvesting project, linking schools with Ministry for ongoing monitoring and support.
• Ministry of Health (Kenya)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on monitoring water harvesting systems and conducting public information sessions.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Plan International: Large global NGO focused on children's rights and equality for girls, with deep East Africa operations. Comparable to Ace Africa on child development, child protection (including FGM and early marriage), and SRH programming, but at significantly greater scale.
• Compassion International: Large child-sponsorship NGO operating extensively in Kenya and Tanzania, with an integrated model of child development, health, and education through local church partners — overlapping Ace Africa's child sponsorship and community-group delivery model.
• World Vision: One of the largest child-focused international development NGOs, with extensive sponsorship, child protection, WASH, and livelihoods programming in Kenya and Tanzania — overlapping Ace Africa's school network, child sponsorship model, and rainwater harvesting work.

Direct peers

• AMREF Health Africa: Africa's largest health-focused NGO, headquartered in Nairobi and operating across East Africa on community health, HIV/AIDS, and child and maternal health — the most direct peer to Ace Africa on the Kenya/Tanzania health-and-community-development axis.
• ChildFund International: International child-focused development NGO with significant East Africa programming around child protection, education, and livelihoods, funded by individual sponsors and institutional grants — directly comparable to Ace Africa's child development and child rights work.
• Farm Africa: UK-registered charity working with smallholder farmers in eastern Africa on sustainable agriculture, market access, and climate resilience — the closest peer to Ace Africa's Community Livelihoods programme in Bungoma, Siaya, and Migori.
• WaterAid: International NGO focused on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in low-income countries, with active programming in Tanzania. Closely comparable to Ace Africa's rainwater harvesting and school WASH work in western Kenya.
• Tearfund: UK-registered Christian relief and development agency working on community development, health, and livelihoods across East Africa, with a similar donor base of UK trusts, churches, and individual supporters to Ace Africa.
• Haller Foundation: UK-registered charity partnering with Ace Africa since 2017 on sustainable farming and fish farming in Western and Southern Kenya — a close direct peer and existing strategic partner on the livelihoods and smallholder farmer segment.

Emerging players

• Africa's Voices Foundation: Smaller UK-based NGO using community-led research and digital engagement in East Africa for health and social development — an emerging peer comparable to Ace Africa on the community-led methodology and use of digital data tools (KoboToolbox-adjacent).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aceafrica
• Facebookfacebook.com/AceAfrica03
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ace-africa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 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 Ace Africa