School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA)

What School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA) does

School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA) is an Afghan-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2016 that operates a residential boarding school for Afghan girls in grades pre-6 through 10. Originally established in Kabul, the school evacuated approximately 250 students, faculty, staff, and family members to Rwanda in August 2021 following the Taliban takeover and resumed operations there, with the Rwandan government as a core host partner. SOLA draws students from the Afghan diaspora globally through an annual admissions process, supported by the UN's International Organization for Migration for relocation logistics. The inaugural 2016 cohort graduated in summer 2024, with alumni progressing into international boarding schools via SOLA's scholars abroad program.

In March 2024, SOLA launched SOLAx, a WhatsApp-based online academy that delivers free, asynchronous daily coursework in English, Pashto, and Dari via a chatbot, requiring only a smartphone and basic cellular connection. SOLAx reached 18,000+ learners across 80 countries and all 34 Afghan provinces within roughly twelve months, with 152,000+ lessons and 75,000+ hours of learning completed in the first nine months, and issues digitally certified certificates of completion. The platform is built on Meta's WhatsApp Business API and has been supported by National Geographic Society on content development.

SOLA is funded 100% through charitable donations from individuals, private foundations, and grants, with no tuition charged to students or families. The organization is led by founder Shabana Basij-Rasikh and has built institutional partnerships with the IOM, Meta, National Geographic, the Rwandan government, and the governments of Qatar and the United States (which facilitated the 2021 evacuation). It maintains a stated intent to return to Afghanistan when conditions permit while preserving its Rwanda campus as a permanent operating base.

Name

School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA)

Legal name

SOLA — School of Leadership, Afghanistan

Website

https://sola-afghanistan.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Short description

School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a boarding school in Rwanda for Afghan girls in grades pre-6 through 10, plus SOLAx, a free WhatsApp-based online academy reaching learners in 80 countries. Funded entirely through charitable donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Girls' Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Newcomer & Refugee Student Support Programs (EDAJAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery (EDADALAC)

Keywords

• Boarding school education
• Girls secondary education
• Online learning platform
• WhatsApp education delivery
• Nonprofit education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kigali

HQ country

Rwanda

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: SOLA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded 100% through charitable donations from individuals, private foundations, and other grants. All donations fund operating expenses in both the US and Rwanda. Students pay no tuition or living expenses.
2. SOLAx Free Online Education: SOLAx online academy is completely free for all students. Only requires a smartphone and basic internet connection to access daily coursework via WhatsApp. Funded through charitable donations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

SOLA is an Afghan-led nonprofit that delivers free secondary education to Afghan girls through (a) a residential boarding school on its Rwanda campus serving grades pre-6 through 10 with a rigorous curriculum and 24/7 supervision, and (b) SOLAx, a free WhatsApp-based online academy launched in March 2024 that delivers daily asynchronous coursework in English, Pashto, and Dari to learners worldwide with only a smartphone and basic internet. All costs are covered by charitable donations and no fees are charged to students or families.

Product overview

SOLA offers two educational programs for Afghan girls: the SOLA Boarding School (physical campus in Rwanda for grades pre-6 through 10, originally operated in Kabul 2016-2021) and SOLAx Online Academy (WhatsApp-based digital education platform launched in 2024). The physical boarding school provides a rigorous on-campus education with both Afghan and international curricula, while SOLAx extends educational access to Afghan girls worldwide who cannot attend physical school, requiring only a smartphone and basic internet connection to deliver daily asynchronous coursework in English, Pashto, and Dari languages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SOLAx: WhatsApp-based online academy launched in 2024, providing accessible education to Afghan girls worldwide. Students access daily asynchronous classwork in English, Pashto, and Dari through a WhatsApp chatbot. Requires only a smartphone and basic cellular connection. Completely free to participants.

Products and services

• SOLA Boarding School Residential boarding school for Afghan girls in grades pre-6 through 10, currently operating from SOLA's Rwanda campus. Provides a rigorous education promoting critical thinking, leadership, and respect for self and others, combined with Afghan cultural curriculum (Dari, Pashto, Islamic Studies). Operates 24/7 with round-the-clock supervision; draws students from the Afghan diaspora worldwide with support from the UN's International Organization for Migration for student relocation. All costs (tuition, housing, meals, clothing, classroom resources, teacher salaries) are fully covered by charitable donations.
• SOLAx Online Academy Free WhatsApp-based online academy for Afghan girls worldwide, launched in March 2024 in partnership with Meta (WhatsApp API). Students register at www.solax.org and access daily asynchronous coursework by texting the SOLAx chatbot on WhatsApp in English, Pashto, or Dari. Requires only a smartphone and basic internet/cellular connection, with no app store download needed. Upon successful completion of a course, students receive a digital certificate of completion secured online with a unique identifier. Reached 18,000+ learners across 80 countries by March 2025.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18,000+ learners enrolled in SOLAx in first year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and key.

• Meta (Facebook)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Meta partnered with SOLAx allowing the use of WhatsApp API to deliver courses to Afghan girls worldwide. The WhatsApp chatbot platform enables students to access daily asynchronous classwork in English, Pashto, and Dari.
• National Geographic SocietykeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024National Geographic Society supported SOLAx content development. In 2024, partnered with National Geographic's Impact Story Lab on 'To Someone Like Me' project where SOLA students composed letters to Afghan girls around the world struggling to find access to education.
• International Organization for Migration (IOM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2023UN's International Organization for Migration supports relocation of Afghan girls to Rwanda to continue their education. IOM assists with safe travel arrangements and relocation of students from their current countries of residence to the SOLA campus in Rwanda. Partnership followed the Taliban's ban on women and girls from secondary and tertiary education in Afghanistan.
• Rwandan GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Rwanda welcomed SOLA students following August 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan. The nation emerged from the 1990s genocide to become a place of regional stability with extraordinary understanding of and empathy with refugees. SOLA intends to maintain a campus in Rwanda even when returning to Afghanistan becomes safe.
• Governments of Qatar, Rwanda, and United StatescoreOthers · 1 January 2021These governments provided critical assistance in facilitating the evacuation of nearly 250 SOLA students, faculty, staff, and family members from Kabul through Qatar to Rwanda following the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
• International Boarding SchoolskeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with boarding schools overseas that accepted SOLA's graduating students when they needed to leave Rwanda for further education. Students from the inaugural 2016 class transitioned into SOLA's scholars abroad program studying at top international boarding schools.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Room to Read: Large global nonprofit focused on literacy and gender equality in education across 20+ countries. Wider geographic and programmatic scope than SOLA, but overlapping donor pool and shared mission of girls' education.

Direct peers

• African Leadership Academy: Residential boarding school in South Africa identifying and developing African youth leaders. Directly comparable to SOLA's boarding-school-for-leadership model, similar selective admissions (low single-digit acceptance rate), and mission to develop future leaders of their continent.
• Aschiana Foundation: Nonprofit providing education and vocational training to Afghan street children and working youth. Same Afghan context, same donor base, same educational mission for disadvantaged Afghan youth.
• Karam Foundation: Nonprofit providing education and humanitarian support to Syrian refugee children. Comparable model: serving displaced youth in a boarding/campus setting, donor-funded, and partnering with international organizations for student relocation.
• More Than Me: Nonprofit providing education to girls in Liberia and Uganda, with a residential component. Comparable boarding-school-for-girls model targeting underserved populations with strong donor-advocacy focus.
• Code to Inspire: Nonprofit teaching Afghan girls coding and digital literacy in Afghanistan and diaspora. Serves the same core audience (Afghan girls with limited education access) and is geographically/programmatically adjacent to SOLA's mission.
• Malala Fund: Global nonprofit co-founded by Malala Yousafzai advocating for girls' education, including Afghan girls. Same mission, same donor base, and explicit collaboration with SOLA's founder at Skoll World Forum — directly comparable in advocacy and program scope.
• SEED Project: Boarding schools and educational programs for refugee and underserved children in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Highly comparable residential-school model for displaced youth in conflict-affected regions.

Others

• UNHCR Education Programs: UN Refugee Agency's education portfolio serving refugee children globally. Comparable target population (displaced Afghan/other refugee girls) and operates in many of the same geographies; SOLA partners with UN IOM on student relocation.
• Meta (WhatsApp) Education Initiatives: Meta partnered with SOLA to provide WhatsApp API access for SOLAx. As a technology ecosystem partner (rather than competitor), Meta enables SOLAx's distribution model and is a strategic infrastructure collaborator.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/solaafghanistan
• Facebookfacebook.com/sola.afghanistan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA)