What Svitlo Education Limited does

Svitlo Education Limited is a UK-registered non-profit charity (Charity Commission registration 1201542) founded in March 2022 by Yuliya Kosko and headquartered in London. The organisation provides free online English-language education to Ukrainian children aged 10–18 whose schooling has been disrupted by the war with Russia. Instruction is delivered live over Zoom, supported by LessonUp for instructional content, and the programme currently runs 63 classes per week with more than 9,474 hours taught since launch. As of the most recent reporting, Svitlo serves approximately 540 active students and has reached more than 3,000 children since inception.

The operating model is heavily volunteer-driven. Teaching is delivered by 65+ volunteer teachers recruited internationally, while a small core team of roughly 20–25 staff handles curriculum, safeguarding, operations, and fundraising. Engagement is organised around a House System, a Buddy System, and a Student Council, which together create community structure for a geographically dispersed student base. Beyond live classes, the charity has launched Svitlo Reads (a reading initiative), an Equipment Programme, a Language & Leadership Programme, an Alumni Camp hosted in the UK in partnership with the German YMCA in London, and scholarship pathways via Pearson Academy Online and Harrow School Online / Highgrove Education.

Svitlo charges no fees to students or families. The organisation is funded entirely through donations and grants from individuals and a set of named institutional partners, most prominently the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (which ran a £25,000 matching programme), Pearson, Harrow School Online, Highgrove Education, and the German YMCA in London. The board of trustees includes senior figures from Pearson, EBRD, the LEGO Foundation, Coca-Cola, WPP, and IBM, lending governance credibility to fundraising and partner outreach.

Name

Svitlo Education Limited

Legal name

Svitlo Education

Website

https://svitloschool.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Svitlo Education Limited is a UK-registered charity that delivers free online English-language education via Zoom to Ukrainian children aged 10–18 affected by war, taught by 65+ international volunteer teachers and supported by donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Online Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Newcomer & Refugee Student Support Programs (EDAJAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 Core Curriculum Small-Group Tutoring Centers (Math/ELA/Science/Social Studies) (EDANAHAA), Test Prep & Exam Readiness (K–12) (EDAJALAC)

Keywords

• Online education charity
• Extracurricular online school
• Scholarship programs
• Summer school placements
• Volunteer teaching platform

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: The organization operates as a registered charity in England and Wales (number 1201542) funded entirely through donations from individuals, corporations, and fundraising activities. Services are provided free to Ukrainian children.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Svitlo Education Limited (also known as Svitlo School) is a UK-registered charity that delivers free online English-language extracurricular education to Ukrainian children aged 10–18 affected by the war. Lessons are taught live by international native-speaker volunteers via Zoom using a structured curriculum hosted on LessonUp. Beyond the core online school, the charity runs a scholarship programme (placing students at Harrow, Pearson and Highgrove schools), fully funded summer school placements, language and leadership courses, mental-wellbeing and Ukrainian-language classes, an equipment programme, and a "Remarkable People" speaker series.

Product overview

Svitlo School is a single unified charitable educational platform offering free online schooling for Ukrainian children aged 10-18 affected by war. The core offering is the Svitlo Online School, providing up to 50 English-language lessons weekly taught by international volunteers. This is supported by the Summer School Programme (fully funded UK/US placements), Scholarship Programme (Harrow, Pearson, Highgrove partnerships), and Language and Leadership Programme for career preparation. Additional engagement features include the House System motivation programme, Student Council, Buddy System, Student Blog, and Student Newsletter. Complementary offerings include Svitlo Reads (English book libraries in bomb shelters), Equipment Programme, and Ukrainian Lessons for native language preservation. The platform operates via Zoom with LessonUp integration for teaching resources, and accepts donations through JustGiving and Privat24 payment platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Svitlo Online School
• Summer School Programme
• Scholarship Programme
• Language and Leadership Programme
• Ukrainian Lessons
• Svitlo Reads
• Equipment Programme
• Remarkable People Programme
• Svitlo Merchandise

Quantifiable outcome

• 9,474 hours of teaching delivered to 540+ students
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered key, core and supporting.

• German YMCA in LondonkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Sponsored Maya Flett's participation in YMCA Europe Leadership Academy programme. Collaborated on Svitlo's first Alumni Camp in partnership with German YMCA London's Room for Opportunity Initiative. Graduation held at The Shard.
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024EBRD employees are undertaking fundraising activities including running the London Half Marathon, with the bank matching funds raised up to £25,000. Yuliya Kosko delivered a presentation at EBRD headquarters in London. The partnership includes a course on anti-corruption for older students.
• Highgrove Education / Highgrove School OnlinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Peer teaching programme established between Harrow School Online pupils and Svitlo students. Svitlo founder worked with Heather Rhodes to set up the program. Highgrove provides scholarship opportunities for Svitlo students.
• Harrow School OnlinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Peer teaching programme between Harrow School Online pupils and Svitlo students, facilitated by trustee Heather Rhodes.
• Wedlake BellsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAward-winning law firm provided pro bono legal time and expertise, carrying out the registration process for the charity and all employees.
• Sterling LawsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerLegal 500 law firm provided event sponsorship that led directly to Svitlo securing free summer school placements in the UK for Ukrainian children.
• Foresight GroupsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerLeading investment firm ran a series of career talks for Svitlo's older students, providing exposure to business and investment careers.
• Pearson Academy OnlinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSvitlo students receive scholarships to attend Pearson online courses, with Sofia Varianychko participating in the Spring semester program.
• British and American Summer CampscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with various UK and US summer schools including Bishop's Stortford International Summer School, International House Frensham, and others to provide fully-funded placements for Svitlo students.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• War Child: Established international NGO delivering education, protection and psychosocial support to children affected by armed conflict. Competes for the same pool of conflict-zone education donor dollars and targets a near-identical beneficiary profile to Svitlo.
• Khan Academy: Non-profit free online education platform offering structured lessons across core K-12 subjects. Svitlo's free, volunteer-taught K-12 supplement in English closely mirrors Khan's not-for-profit, access-driven online learning model, though Khan is much larger and global.
• UNICEF Education in Emergencies: UN agency running one of the largest portfolios of emergency education programmes for displaced children. Svitlo essentially competes (and sometimes partners) with UNICEF-led programming to provide continuity schooling to Ukrainian children.

Emerging players

• Razom for Ukraine: US-based Ukrainian diaspora nonprofit running humanitarian and education-focused programmes. Competes with Svitlo for Ukraine-targeted donor funding and pursues an overlapping mission of supporting Ukrainians displaced by the war.
• Preply: Online marketplace for one-to-one language tutoring with globally distributed tutors. Svitlo's volunteer-led English tutoring model is conceptually adjacent to Preply's marketplace, though Svitlo is non-profit and small-group/whole-class based.
• Voices of Children: Ukrainian charity providing psychological and educational support to children affected by war. Operates in the same beneficiary population and donor narrative as Svitlo, with a more psychology-led therapeutic proposition.

Direct peers

• Outschool: Marketplace for live, small-group online classes for K-12 learners across academic and enrichment subjects. Svitlo's 63 classes-per-week, Zoom-delivered, age-segmented (10-13, 14-18) format maps closely to Outschool's core product, although Outschool is fee-based and US-centric.
• Pearson Academy Online: Online British-curriculum school offering GCSE/A-level programmes globally; provides scholarships to Svitlo students. Direct peer in online K-12 international curriculum delivery via live lessons.
• Highgrove Education: International online school offering British-style curricula (GCSE/A-level) globally, founded by Heather Rhodes, who is also a Svitlo trustee. Operates as a direct downstream partner providing scholarships and content for Svitlo students.
• Harrow School Online: Online British school delivering GCSE and A-level pathways, partnered with Svitlo via the peer-teaching programme and as a scholarship route for Svitlo students. Operates the same Zoom-based live-class model for an internationally distributed student body.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SvitloSchool/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/SvitloEducationUkr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/svitlo-education
• Instagraminstagram.com/svitloeducation
• TikToktiktok.com/@svitloschool

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Svitlo Education Limited