What Zamara Foundation does

Zamara Foundation is a Kenyan feminist non-profit organization founded in 2016 and registered in Kenya in 2019. It is anchored on African feminist principles, radical perspectives on bodily autonomy and integrity, and intersectional feminist transformational leadership for adolescent girls and young women in marginalized communities. Headquartered in Nairobi with operational focus on Nairobi, Kwale, and Kilifi counties, the organization delivers five program lines: (1) the ZaFLI (Zamara Annual Intersectional Feminist Leadership Institute), a five-day residential training program for young women aged 18–35 that has run seven cohorts since 2023 and expanded from Coastal region and Nairobi into Kajiado and Kisumu; (2) a broader Feminist Transformational Leadership Development track covering intergenerational mentorship ('Pass on the Torch') and youth 'Create and Activate' training for girls aged 10–18; (3) a Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights programme, including the FemZone digital safe space and #ZamaraVoices / #AfrikanFeminists Twitter hashtag campaigns; (4) an Ending Child Marriages programme aligned with Girls Not Brides; and (5) policy advocacy at national, regional, and global levels (e.g., UPR Kenya coalition submissions, African Women Major Group, joint statements with Center for Reproductive Rights). Service delivery is direct-to-beneficiary, free of charge, and combines in-person residential training with grassroots community engagement.

Underlying technology is light-weight digital engagement rather than proprietary software: the core stack comprises a WordPress-based website, the Zamara Voices blog, a Twitter/X account (~2,800 followers, ~10M cumulative people reached online), Facebook, WhatsApp community mobilization, Zoom for virtual sessions, and a YouTube channel. Named 'products' are the program lines themselves — annual reports, policy briefs, cohort reports, and the 'My Reality' anthology — rather than SaaS deliverables. No mobile app, API, SDK, or AI capability is disclosed.

Zamara's revenue model is non-commercial grant funding for a non-profit. Institutional donors include the Government of Canada and WGNRR Africa (supporting the 'You Can' project on abortion stigma), and the organization participates in coalition and partnership structures — Girls Not Brides, FEMNET, UPR Kenya Women Rights Cluster and SRHR Thematic Group, Akina Mama wa Afrika, African Women Major Group — that function as both advocacy platforms and indirect funder pipelines. No revenue figures, total funding raised, or financial statements are disclosed; the organization operates with a 6-person core staff. Go-to-market is community-led: identification of beneficiaries in focus counties, application-based enrollment into ZaFLI cohorts, ongoing mentorship, and digital awareness campaigns that scale reach beyond direct program participants.

Name

Zamara Foundation

Legal name

Zamara Foundation

Website

https://zamarafoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Zamara Foundation is a Kenyan feminist non-profit running residential feminist leadership training (ZaFLI), SRHR advocacy, ending child marriages programs, and policy advocacy for adolescent girls and young women in Nairobi, Kwale, and Kilifi counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Women's Rights Advocacy and SRHR Programs

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) NGOs (HLAJAKAG), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Feminist leadership development
• Sexual reproductive health rights
• Gender equality advocacy
• End child marriage
• Feminist nonprofit programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding and Grants: Zamara Foundation operates as a nonprofit organization funded by institutional donors, foundations, and development partners. The organization receives support from international donors including governments (Canada mentioned), women's rights organizations, and SRHR advocacy networks.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Zamara Foundation is a feminist nonprofit that runs advocacy and capacity-building programs for adolescent girls and young women in Kenya. Its flagship is the ZaFLI annual residential feminist leadership institute, complemented by programs on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), ending child marriages, and policy advocacy at national, regional, and global levels. Programs are delivered free of charge to beneficiaries and funded through grants and donor support.

Product overview

Zamara Foundation is a feminist non-profit organization (not a commercial product company) offering a portfolio of advocacy programmes and initiatives focused on young women and adolescent girls. The core programmatic offerings include: (1) ZaFLI - the flagship annual intersectional feminist leadership institute providing residential training; (2) Feminist Transformational Leadership Development with mentorship ('Pass on the torch') and skills training ('Create and Activate'); (3) Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights advocacy and digital campaigns including FemZone/#ZamaraVoices/#AfrikanFeminists; (4) Ending Child Marriages programme; (5) Policy Advocacy at national, regional and global levels; and (6) COVID-19 Response providing emergency support and digital engagement. The organization also produces publications including annual reports, ZaFLI cohort reports, and policy briefs as part of its knowledge-sharing and advocacy work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ZaFLI (Zamara Foundation Intersectional Feminist Leadership Institute): Annual intersectional feminist institute for young women leaders ages 18-35 from East Africa, designed to build constituents of young women intersectional feminists who understand the intersecting patterns between different power structures.

Products and services

• Zamara Annual Intersectional Feminist Leadership Institute (ZaFLI) Annual residential feminist leadership institute for young women aged 18-35 from East Africa, providing a five-day intensive training on feminist movement building, SRHR advocacy, digital activism, and policy engagement. Designed to build a constituency of young women intersectional feminists who understand intersecting patterns of power based on gender, class, sexuality, and ethnicity.
• Feminist Transformational Leadership Development Programme Comprehensive leadership development programme including the ZaFLI annual institute, 'Pass on the Torch' intergenerational mentorship for girls, and 'Create and Activate' safe space training for girls aged 10-18 on feminist transformational leadership, bodily integrity, comprehensive sexuality education, and ending child marriage.
• Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Programme Programme to strengthen advocacy on adolescent and young women's sexual and reproductive health rights, creating an enabling environment for AGYW to make informed sexual choices while stimulating debate on socialization processes, hegemonic masculinities, and bodily autonomy. Includes the FemZone digital safe space for awareness campaigns on SRHR.
• Ending Child Marriages Programme Programme addressing child marriage as a global issue, working to prevent child marriages and protect girls' rights to education, health, and bodily autonomy, including through membership in the Girls Not Brides global partnership.
• Advocacy Programme Programme to strengthen advocacy on young women's sexuality rights and reproductive health rights (SRHR), enabling young women and girls to engage and influence law and policy processes regarding their rights at national, regional, and global levels, including through UPR Kenya coalition submissions and African Women Major Group participation.
• COVID-19 Response Initiative Crisis response initiative providing digital engagement through Twitter chats, distribution of care packages including sanitary towels to adolescent girls and young women in Nairobi and Kilifi Counties, and linking AGYW to resources on violence, teenage pregnancies, FGM, and mental health services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10 million+ people reached through online engagement
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 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 and minor.

• Girls Not BridescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZamara Foundation is a member of Girls Not Brides, a global partnership of civil society organizations committed to ending child marriage. The partnership supports Zamara's Ending Child Marriages program and provides access to global advocacy resources and networks.
• FEMNETcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFEMNET (African Women's Development and Communication Network) is a partner organization. Zamara Foundation collaborates with FEMNET on advocacy initiatives and shares organizational logos as partners.
• UAFAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUAFA (Ucan Ablaze Foundation for Africa or similar) is listed as a partner organization with shared organizational logos.
• Dream Achievers Youth Organisation (DAYO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZamara Foundation partnered with DAYO to ensure domestication of the Menstrual Hygiene Management Policy within Kilifi County. Joint advocacy and implementation partnership at county level.
• Universal Periodic Review Kenya CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZamara Foundation is a member of the Women Rights Cluster within the UPR Kenya coalition (200+ CSOs in 30 sub-clusters). Other members include African Gender and Media Initiative Trust, AMWIK, CDTD, CSA, CREAW, FIDA Kenya, Flone Initiative, KAACR, NAYA Kenya, Plan International, Polycom Girls, Wangu Kanja Foundation, WEL, and others. Zamara contributed to joint stakeholders' submission on women's rights.
• SRHR Thematic Group (UPR Kenya)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZamara Foundation is a member of the SRHR Thematic Group within UPR Kenya. Members include Centre for the Study of Adolescence, African Gender and Media Initiative Trust, SRHR Alliance, The East African Centre for Human Rights, Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network, Raise Your Voice, VSO Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, FIDA Kenya, and others. Contributed to joint submission on SRHR in Kenya.
• Akina Mama wa AfrikacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZamara Foundation partnered with Akina Mama wa Afrika, VSO, and Women's Probono Initiative on joint statements regarding ICPD30 anniversary and SRHR advocacy. Collaborative advocacy partnership.
• Center for Reproductive RightscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Center for Reproductive Rights on press statement regarding doctors' strike and healthcare crisis in Kenya. Joint advocacy on SRHR services during healthcare disruptions.
• Nyanza Initiative for Girls Education and Empowerment (NIGEE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in joint press statement on doctors' strike, contributing to advocacy on reproductive healthcare access.
• African Women Major GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZamara Foundation participates as member of African Women Major Group, with mandate to represent voices of women and girls in regional and global UN sustainable development processes. Contributed to African Regional Forum on SDGs statements.
• Youth Empowerment Movement KenyaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in developing Policy Brief on Abortion Stigma in Kenya under the You Can project supported by WGNRR Africa.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Naya Kenya: Kenyan feminist SRHR organization advocating for sexual and reproductive rights; fellow UPR Kenya member with overlapping beneficiary populations and advocacy tactics.
• FIDA Kenya (Federation of Women Lawyers): Kenyan women's rights organization providing legal aid and policy advocacy on gender rights; fellow UPR Kenya coalition member operating in the same women's-rights ecosystem.
• FEMNET (African Women's Development and Communication Network): Pan-African feminist network coordinating advocacy on women's rights and SRHR; a direct coalition partner of Zamara with overlapping thematic focus on African feminism and policy engagement.
• Centre for the Study of Adolescence (CSA): Kenyan NGO working on adolescent SRHR, policy advocacy, and youth-friendly services — a fellow member of the UPR Kenya SRHR Thematic Group with overlapping AGYW beneficiary base.
• The East African Centre for Human Rights: Regional human rights organization focused on East Africa and SRHR advocacy — fellow member of the UPR Kenya SRHR Thematic Group with directly comparable geographic and thematic scope.
• CREAW (Centre for Rights Education and Awareness): Kenyan feminist organization advancing women's rights and gender equality through advocacy and movement-building — a fellow UPR Kenya coalition member with comparable intersectional feminist programming.
• Akina Mama wa Afrika: Pan-African feminist organization focused on leadership development for African women and SRHR advocacy; a documented Zamara partner with directly comparable programmatic and ideological positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Center for Reproductive Rights: Global reproductive rights legal and advocacy organization; a documented Zamara partner with directly comparable SRHR and bodily-autonomy mission at significantly larger scale.
• WGNRR (Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights): International network advancing sexual and reproductive rights globally — a current Zamara donor (WGNRR Africa) with overlapping mission and a stronger international footprint.

Emerging players

• Restless Development: Youth-led development organization running leadership institutes and SRHR programs for young people across East Africa; comparable programmatic model to ZaFLI at broader scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zamara-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Zamara Foundation