Tesfa Ethiopia

What Tesfa Ethiopia does

Tesfa Ethiopia is a private nonprofit organization established in 2019 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, focused on expanding access to education for children in Ethiopia. The organization was founded by a volunteer team with direct ties to Ethiopia and is led by Chair Maheder Yohannes and Vice Chair Meki Shewangizaw, with Solomon Desalegn, MD serving as Country Representative in Ethiopia. Its core beneficiaries are primary- and secondary-age children in Ethiopia, particularly those in rural and underserved areas facing barriers including poverty, lack of clean water, poor sanitation, and gender inequality; the organization cites a 2018 statistic that one in four Ethiopian children of primary school age were out of school.

Tesfa Ethiopia's product portfolio is built around charitable programs rather than technology products. Core offerings include the General Fund for flexible short-term needs, the Tesfa's Kids sponsorship program (covering school expenses for 14 children in Addis Ababa through grade 12, operated with partner Kidus Estifanos), a Build-a-Library campaign at Lenchicho Primary and Secondary School with a $50,000 goal, school uniform distributions, school supply provisions, water tank installations, and classroom transformation projects in Hosaena. The organization also runs an annual Ethiopian Cultural Festival in Charlotte as a community engagement and fundraising channel.

The business model is donation-based. Revenue is generated entirely through individual contributions, community events, and project-specific fundraising, with donations accepted via the Givebutter widget embedded on the website and email outreach through ConvertKit. Pricing-style donation tiers include $15 for a student's school essentials, $75 for a two-month COVID hygiene kit for one family, and $250 per year to sponsor a child's schooling, with cohort and infrastructure gifts scaling higher. Programs are delivered through direct partnerships with Ethiopian organizations (Kidus Estifanos, Lenesum Ethiopia, Selamta Family Project, Lifeline Medical Services) and beneficiary schools such as Yekelem Amba Primary School. To date, Tesfa Ethiopia reports 900+ students impacted across 10+ completed projects and operates with a team of approximately 7 volunteer staff and board members.

Name

Tesfa Ethiopia

Legal name

Tesfa Ethiopia

Website

https://tesfaethiopia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tesfa Ethiopia is a Charlotte, NC-based nonprofit founded in 2019 that delivers education support programs to children in Ethiopia, including school supplies, uniforms, water tanks, library construction, and a child sponsorship program, funded entirely through individual donations and community fundraising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Education and Humanitarian Aid Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Educational Services (611)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery (EDADALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB), Guardianship, Custodianship & Local Sponsor Services (EDAIAHAF)

Keywords

• Nonprofit education support
• Child sponsorship programs
• School infrastructure development
• Humanitarian charity services
• Community development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Tesfa Ethiopia generates revenue entirely through donations from individuals, organizations, and community events. Donors can contribute to specific causes (school supplies, uniforms, water tanks, libraries, sponsorship programs) or the General Fund for flexible deployment. The organization also hosts fundraising events such as the Ethiopian Cultural Festival.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Tesfa Ethiopia is a nonprofit organization that funds and delivers education-focused charitable programs for children in Ethiopia, including a multi-year child sponsorship program (Tesfa's Kids) covering school expenses from kindergarten through grade 12, a flexible General Fund for short-term projects, school uniform and supply distributions, water tank installations, and school infrastructure projects such as libraries and classroom construction. Programs are implemented in partnership with in-country Ethiopian organizations and funded entirely through individual and community donations.

Product overview

Tesfa Ethiopia is a non-profit organization (established 2019, based in Charlotte, NC) focused on empowering children of Ethiopia through education. The organization operates a portfolio of programs centered around its General Fund for flexible short-term needs and Tesfa's Kids sponsorship program for long-term student support. Additional initiatives include library construction campaigns, school uniform distributions, water tank installations, and school supply provisions. The organization also hosts an annual Ethiopian Cultural Festival for community engagement and fundraising. While Tesfa Ethiopia maintains a web presence for donations and communications using third-party services (Givebutter for donation processing, ConvertKit for newsletters, Plausible Analytics for privacy-friendly web analytics), it does not offer a software product with technical integrations in the traditional SaaS sense.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Fund
• Tesfa's Kids Sponsorship Program
• Build a Library at Lenchicho Primary and Secondary School
• Classroom Transformation Projects
• School Uniform Distribution
• Water Tank Installation
• School Supply Provision
• Ethiopian Cultural Festival

Quantifiable outcome

• 900+ students impacted through education support programs
• +5 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kidus EstifanoscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Non-profit organization based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that partners with Tesfa Ethiopia for the Tesfa's Kids sponsorship program. Students are selected annually based on family situation and financial status, with school expenses covered through grade 12.
• Selamta Family ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Organization that creates forever families for orphaned and abandoned children in Ethiopia. Their Community Center in Addis Ababa hosts Selamta's English Camp during summer. Tesfa Ethiopia provided 238 books for their library.
• Lenesum EthiopiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization in Ethiopia helping marginalized communities. Partnered with Tesfa Ethiopia for COVID-19 relief distribution, providing 27 families with hygiene essentials and coordinating relief efforts.
• Lifeline Medical ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical services organization whose doctors partnered with Tesfa Ethiopia to teach hand-hygiene sessions for the 27 families receiving COVID-19 relief supplies.
• Yekelem Amba Primary SchoolcoreOthersPrimary school in Addis Ababa that has been a partner since 2019. Tesfa Ethiopia has provided uniforms (400 students), a water tank, and COVID-19 relief supplies to families from this school.
• Ethiopian Community Association of CharlotteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity organization in Charlotte that partners with Tesfa Ethiopia for the Ethiopian Cultural Festival celebration and Ethiopian New Year events at the Midwood International & Cultural Center.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Room to Read: Large international nonprofit focused on literacy and gender equality in education across Asia and Africa. Broader incumbent in the same education-development space as Tesfa Ethiopia, with similar library-construction and student-support programming but at materially larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Save the Children: One of the largest global child-focused INGOs, with active Ethiopia country office running education, health, and child protection programs. A broad incumbent operating in the same Ethiopian education space as Tesfa Ethiopia but with vastly greater resources, brand recognition, and institutional donor base.
• UNICEF Ethiopia: UN agency delivering large-scale education, WASH, and child protection programs across Ethiopia. Overlaps with Tesfa Ethiopia on several target barriers (water, sanitation, gender, school attendance) but operates at national-policy scale with government and multilateral funding.

Others

• Kidus Estifanos: In-country Ethiopian nonprofit that is Tesfa's direct implementation partner for the Tesfa's Kids sponsorship program. While a partner rather than competitor, it operates in the same Ethiopia education sector and represents the type of grassroots NGO ecosystem that Tesfa engages with on the ground.

Direct peers

• Imagine1day: Canadian nonprofit focused on universal quality education in Ethiopia, with operations in regions including Oromia. Highly comparable to Tesfa Ethiopia in mission, geography, and emphasis on education access; differentiated by larger scale and institutional grant base.
• Pencils of Promise: US-based nonprofit building schools and improving literacy in developing countries, with significant programs in Ghana, Guatemala, Laos, and Nicaragua. Comparable as a small-to-mid sized education nonprofit with donor-sponsorship models, though geographically focused outside Ethiopia.
• Ethiopiaid: UK-based nonprofit dedicated to long-term development in Ethiopia, including education access for children. Directly comparable to Tesfa Ethiopia in mission (Ethiopian education), beneficiary base (Ethiopian children), and diaspora-driven funding model, though larger and more established.

Emerging players

• SchoolBOX: Canadian nonprofit focused on education in Latin America and Africa, building classrooms and providing school supplies. Comparable to Tesfa Ethiopia in infrastructure-led education support (classroom construction, supplies), though smaller scale and different primary geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TesfaET
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tesfa-ethiopia

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Tesfa Ethiopia