MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION
Maple Leaf Early Years Foundation is a Nigerian non-profit that delivers Education-in-Emergencies programming through Transitional Learning Centres, school meals, psychosocial support, and livelihood training for displaced, conflict-affected, and low-income children and mothers across multiple Nigerian states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersAbuja, Nigeria
- Headcount11–50
- GTM type—
- OfferingServices
What MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION does
Maple Leaf Early Years Foundation (MLEYF) is a Nigerian non-profit organization founded in 2018 and headquartered at 33 Gade Street, Gwarimpa, Abuja, that delivers Education-in-Emergencies programming for displaced, conflict-affected, and low-income children in Nigeria. The foundation's core service is the operation of Transitional Learning Centres (TLCs) — safe learning spaces that combine basic early childhood and primary education with daily school meals, mental health and psychosocial support, and child protection services. Programs are delivered through a community-based GTM motion, with field operations across at least eight Nigerian states (FCT Abuja, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Edo, and Imo) and a beneficiary base of 6,570+ children, supported by 11–50 staff and 67+ volunteers. The technology stack is intentionally low-tech and humanitarian-context-appropriate, with ICT tools such as the Mavis Talking Pen for interactive reading and pronunciation support, and a specialized "Inclusive Education in Emergencies" curriculum developed for displaced, host, and rural settings. Supporting programs include Lunch@School feeding, the Set for Success accelerated learning track, Early Years for IDPs Initiative, MHPSS, teacher training, WaSH (water/sanitation/hygiene), youth vocational training, and the T.H.E.M. women's livelihood and financial literacy program delivered in partnership with United Bank for Africa. The business model is non-revenue-generating: services are delivered free of charge to beneficiaries, with funding sourced from individual donations, corporate and foundation grants (including Theirworld), government partnerships (NCFRMI, FMHADMSD, NHGSFP), and multilateral alliances (School Meals Coalition, INEE, G20 Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty). Distribution is direct via field TLCs and a global online donation platform, with go-to-market awareness built through organic social, content marketing, and conference participation such as Zero Conference 2024 in Vienna. Leadership is provided by Founder/Executive Director Ifedinma Nwigwe and Co-Founder Ndubuisi Nwigwe, supported by an advisory board with senior government and diaspora representation.
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION
- Legal name
- Maple Leaf Early Years Foundation
- Website
- https://mleyfoundation.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Maple Leaf Early Years Foundation is a Nigerian non-profit that delivers Education-in-Emergencies programming through Transitional Learning Centres, school meals, psychosocial support, and livelihood training for displaced, conflict-affected, and low-income children and mothers across multiple Nigerian states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Humanitarian Education Services
- NAICS
- Child and Youth Services (62411), Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Community Food Services (624210)
- SIC
- Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits (BPAGADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Full-Day Nursery Programs (EDACACAD), Nursery School Readiness & Transition Programs (EDACACAL), Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)
Keywords
Where MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Abuja
- HQ country
- Nigeria
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION business model
Business model- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: The organization relies on donations from individuals, corporations, and well-meaning organizations to fund its programs and interventions.
- Government Partnerships: Partnerships with government programs such as the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme to provide meals and support.
- Corporate and Foundation Grants: Funding from international organizations such as Theirworld for Early Childhood Development programs.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Maple Leaf Early Years Foundation is a non-profit humanitarian organization that delivers free education, nutrition, protection, and psychosocial support services to displaced and vulnerable children in Nigeria, primarily operating through Transitional Learning Centres (TLCs). The foundation provides school meals, early childhood education, teacher training, and maternal mental health support in internally displaced persons (IDP) communities.
Product overview
Maple Leaf Early Years Foundation is a non-profit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs focused on education-in-emergencies and humanitarian support for displaced and vulnerable children in Nigeria and across Africa. The core educational offerings include Transitional Learning Centres (TLCs) providing safe learning spaces with school meals, paired with Education-in-Emergencies (EiE) services, Early Years for IDPs Initiative, and Set for Success accelerated learning for out-of-school children. These are complemented by support services including Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), Teacher Training and Professional Development, and Early Childhood Development Support Programs. Additional assistance includes Lunch@School feeding, Food Drive, Textbooks and Stationeries Drive, Back-to-School Supplies, WaSH Club Initiative, Youth Vocational Skills training, the T.H.E.M. women's livelihood program, and Pick-a-Pair Boutique clothing distribution. The organization also maintains volunteer, career, and donation platforms through its website.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Education-in-Emergencies Program
- Lunch@School Program
- Early Years for IDPs Initiative
- Set for Success Program
- Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)
- Teacher Training Program
- Early Childhood Development Support Programs
- WaSH Club Initiative
Quantifiable outcome
- 6,570 children reached with education services
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- TheirworldcorePartnership for Early Childhood Development programs scaled up to increase children in ECD programs and improve quality of education. Implemented in FCT Abuja, Adamawa and Nasarawa States through staff training and development.
- National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI)coreGovernment partnership supporting IDP-focused education programs and advocacy for displaced persons.
- United Bank for Africa (UBA)supportingCollaboration for financial literacy training for women in Wassa community, providing tools for banking, saving, and investing.
- Life for Relief and Development, USAsupportingPartnership for flood relief supplies distribution in Nasarawa State, providing essential relief materials to flood victims.
- Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)coreCollaboration on workshop for Strengthening Systems in Nigeria for Child Protection in Education in Emergencies Implementation/Programming.
- The Gibran Books and Values SocietysupportingPartnership focused on providing educational materials and values-based learning resources.
- Foundation for Refugee Economic Empowerment (FREE)supportingPartnership supporting economic empowerment initiatives for refugees and displaced persons.
- School Meals CoalitioncoreGlobal coalition partnership supporting school feeding programs and nutrition initiatives.
- National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP)corePartnership with Nigerian government school feeding program, recognized by WFP as the best in Africa.
- Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHADMSD)coreGovernment partnership for humanitarian interventions, feeding programs, and disaster response activities.
- GBVSsupportingPartnership for World Toilet Day activities providing sanitation items and hygiene education.
- Grill Party NigeriasupportingCorporate partnership supporting food and community programs.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Street Child: Street Child focuses on access to quality education for out-of-school and crisis-affected children in West and Northeast Africa, operating accelerated learning and teacher training programmes directly comparable to MLEYF's Set for Success and EiE offerings.
- Right To Play: Right To Play uses play-based learning and teacher training to deliver education in crisis and displacement contexts across West Africa, sharing MLEYF's focus on child-centred, trauma-informed pedagogy for conflict-affected children.
- War Child UK: War Child specialises in education and psychosocial support for children affected by conflict in fragile settings, making its EiE-plus-MHPSS integrated model directly comparable to MLEYF's Transitional Learning Centres and MHPSS initiative.
- Theirworld: Theirworld is both a current partner and a close peer: a global charity focused on Early Childhood Development and education for refugee and displaced children, funding ECD scale-ups that MLEYF directly implements in Abuja, Adamawa and Nasarawa.
Broad incumbents
- Plan International Nigeria: Plan International runs child-centred education, early childhood, and youth livelihood programmes in Nigeria targeting the same displaced girls and children that MLEYF serves through its TLCs and T.H.E.M. women's livelihood programme.
- Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC): NRC provides EiE, safe learning, and food security programming for displaced populations in Nigeria and the wider Sahel, making it a comparable specialised humanitarian operator targeting similar IDP and host-community segments.
- Save the Children Nigeria: Save the Children runs established Education-in-Emergencies and school feeding programmes in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states, directly competing with MLEYF for the same displaced-child beneficiaries and donor funding.
- International Rescue Committee (IRC): IRC operates Education-in-Emergencies and child-protection programming in Northeast Nigeria and across the Lake Chad Basin, delivering an overlapping integrated model (education + protection + livelihoods) comparable to MLEYF's wraparound approach.
- UNICEF Nigeria: UNICEF's Nigeria country office delivers large-scale education, child protection, and nutrition programming for displaced and vulnerable children across the same states where MLEYF operates, representing the dominant institutional funder and competitor in the Nigerian EiE space.
Regional players
- Sabre Education: Sabre Education focuses on Early Childhood Development and teacher training in Ghana and West Africa, providing a comparable specialist NGO approach to ECD quality improvement in low-income and crisis-affected West African communities.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION social profiles
Digital presenceMAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION
What does MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION do?
Maple Leaf Early Years Foundation is a non-profit humanitarian organization that delivers free education, nutrition, protection, and psychosocial support services to displaced and vulnerable children in Nigeria, primarily operating through Transitional Learning Centres (TLCs). The foundation provides school meals, early childhood education, teacher training, and maternal mental health support in internally displaced persons (IDP) communities.
Is MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION a public or private company?
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION founded?
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION based?
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION is headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria, in the Africa region.
How does MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Charitable Contributions are the primary driver. The others are government Partnerships and corporate and Foundation Grants.
Who are MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Street Child, Right To Play, War Child UK and Theirworld. Broad incumbents are Plan International Nigeria, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Save the Children Nigeria, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and UNICEF Nigeria. Sabre Education is listed as a regional player.
Does MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION have an API?
No public API is recorded for MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION.
What industry is MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION in?
MAPLE LEAF EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION's product category is Humanitarian Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAA, Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits, with a secondary code of EDACACAD, Full-Day Nursery Programs. Its NAICS code is 62411 and its SIC code is 8351.